U.S. Supreme Court to hear Oregon special education case

PORTLAND – The U.S. Supreme Court will use a Forest Grove case to try again to decide when taxpayers must foot the bill for private schooling for special education students.

The Supreme Court heard a similar case from New York in 2007 but split 4-4.

On Friday, the court agreed to hear an appeal from the Forest Grove School District, which was sued by the family of a former high school student diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The school failed to address properly the student’s learning problems, the parents said, and sought reimbursement for the student’s private schooling.

In its appeal to the Supreme Court, the school district says students should at least give public special education programs a try before seeking reimbursement for private school tuition.