Legal Update for Special Education Law – Results*

Christopher Conrad (Harrisburg, PA) successfully defended claims for alleged violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) included in a complaint filed in the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas. The plaintiff, a former student of a local school district, claimed that while he was a student, the school district subjected him to discrimination, denied him equal opportunity to access his education, and violated his rights to privacy and confidentiality in his educational records. Chris filed preliminary objections in response to the complaint. As to the IDEA claim, Chris argued that the plaintiff failed to exhaust his administrative remedies under the IDEA, since he did not first file a special education due process complaint and pursue that case to conclusion before filing suit. And as to the FERPA claim, Chris argued that because there is no private right of action under FERPA, the plaintiff could not maintain a claim under the statute. The court agreed with Chris’s arguments, sustained the preliminary objections, and dismissed the IDEA and FERPA claims with prejudice.

*Prior Results Do Not Guarantee a Similar Outcome 

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