Legal Update for Special Education Law – Case Law Update

Pennsylvania Federal Court Dismisses IDEA Age‑Out Challenge for Lack of Standing

A.K. et al v. Council Rock School District et al., No. 2:25-cv-00294 (E.D. Pa. Apr. 17, 2025)

The Eastern District of Pennsylvania addressed the standing and questions surrounding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), in regards to the “age-out” provision. This provision speaks to the availability of Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), up until age 22. The plaintiffs, four students who qualify as children with disabilities under the IDEA, and their parents, sued Council Rock and Central Bucks School Districts, where the students attend school. The plaintiffs alleged that the districts threatened to terminate FAPE at age 21. The defendants filed a motion to dismiss for a lack of standing and ripeness, which the district court granted without adjudicating the substantive age-out question.

The plaintiffs alleged that the districts had adopted a policy of terminating students’ FAPE at the end of the school year in which they turn 21, stating that policy violates the IDEA, and “will deprive Plaintiffs of up to a year of a FAPE at a critical juncture of their lives.” The court, while not directly addressing the age-out question, held that the claims could not survive, and dismissal was appropriate due to a lack of standing because the alleged harm was speculative and not imminent.

The decision is noteworthy because it illustrates how a federal court could deal with an IDEA age-out dispute by jurisdiction rather than its merits. Thus, age-out claims face both substantive and procedural hurdles, while standing issues may be dispositive.