R.K. v. Hayward Unified School District

DREDF is a party to the amicus brief submitted to the Ninth Circuit in R.K. v, Hayward Unified School District (HUSD). R.K. appeals a Northern District of California decision in an Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) case involving a 10-year-old student with disabilities who had been placed at a nonpublic school. When the nonpublic school sought to terminate the student’s placement, the parents filed a due process complaint, requesting a determination of future placement and a “stay put” order. Although the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) issued a “stay put” order, the school refused to honor the order unless HUSD would pay for increased services to support the student. The parents withdrew their due process complaint “without prejudice” (preserving the right to return to OAH in the future), and sought a temporary restraining order (TRO) in federal court to enforce the IDEA’s “stay put” provisions. The Northern District refused to issue a TRO on the grounds that it could not enforce the OAH order because the due process complaint had been withdrawn, and could not issue a “stay put” order because plaintiffs had not exhausted their administrative remedy by completing the OAH process for considering the future placement issues. The parents appeal argues that the IDEA requires federal courts to enforce the mandatory “stay put” provisions.