Special education tuition reimbursement claims - An empirical analysis

The ability of parents of children with disabilities to seek reimbursement for private school tuition is one of the most controversial aspects of spec ial education law. Using a comprehensive sample of published court and hear ing officer decisions regarding tuition reimbursement, this study, expandin g on previous research, quantified the frequency and outcomes of tuition re imbursement disputes. It revealed that the annual average number of such cl aims has increased over time. It also demonstrated that there was a signifi cant difference in case outcomes between the administrative and judicial fo rums, but there was no significant difference in case outcomes among the su ccessive time periods marked by two U.S. Supreme Court decisions on tuition reimbursement (i.e., Burlington School Committee v. Deportment of Educ. (1 985), Florence County School District Four v. Carter (1993)) and, most rece ntly, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997.