UPDATE June 23, 2008: The U.S. Supreme Court published orders from its private conference held June 19th – the last of the year. The petition for writ of certiorari in Joel Hjortness v. Neenah Joint School District (07-1178) was denied, leaving the the Court of Appeals' affirmance of the District Court's summary dismissal of the parents' action intact.
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(June 5, 2008)
A petition to the U.S. Supreme Court for certiori to the Seventh Circuit asks whether a school district has violated the parents' procedural safeguards when it predetermines a child’s placement before an IEP meeting with the parents and before an IEP has been formulated.
The parents' petition, Joel Hjortness v. Neenah Joint School District (07-1178), will be considered by the Court at its June 19, 2008 private conference – the final conference before the end of the term. The Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court's reversal of the administrative law judge's finding and granting summary dismissal on the petition of the school district.
Although the issues considered by the ALJ and the Court of Appeals are more complex, the single issue raised by the parents deals with the school's decision to place the child in a local school prior to holding an IEP team meeting or formulating an IEP. The District's Brief in Opposition is here and the petitioner's Reply Brief is here. Amicus briefs supporting the parents have been filed by Autism Speaks and the Tourette Syndrome Association, Inc. (Thanks to SCOTUSBlog for the links.)
The petitioning parents are represented by Sidley Austin in Washington assisted by the Supreme Court Practicum at the Northwestern University Law School. If certiorari is granted, a more complete analysis of the case will be undertaken.
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