Articles By Our Attorneys

Heidi B. Konkler-Goldsmith

Printable Version | Other Articles

Special Education for Students Attending Private School

By Heidi B. Konkler-Goldsmith, Esquire

The recent decision of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Lower Merion School District v. Doe, 593 Pa. 437 (2007), which upheld Veschi v. Northwestern Lehigh School District, 772 A.2d 469(Pa. Cmwlth. 2001), reaffirms the rights of private school students in Pennsylvania to seek services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section 504 and State Law from their local school districts dually enrolled students.

The Court in Lower Merion held that Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act required the public school district to provide occupational therapy services to an eligible student enrolled in and attending private school. The student had dually enrolled in public school so that he could receive the therapy services. The Court found that Section 504 and its implementing state regulations did not bar the student from attending private school full-time while also enrolling in public school in order to receive services, under section 504.

The Lower Merion decision relied heavily on Veschi, which detailed the obligation of Pennsylvania’s “public educational agencies” to non-public school students and rejected a claim that the IDEA precluded services to non-public school students where the local school district offers an appropriate program in the public schools. Significantly, both courts decided this issue under Section 5-502 of the Pennsylvania Public School Code of 1949. Under Section 5-502, a student in a nonpublic school has the right to “dual enrollment” whereby the student is permitted to attend classes and obtain services on the grounds of the local public school. According to these decisions, such services would typically include classes which currently exist at the school district or which can be provided through existing services on the grounds of the school district.

The Lower Merion and Veschi decisions profoundly affect public school districts, which must provide disabled students, in their nonpublic schools, with “comparable” or “equitable” services to those of public school students.

McAndrews Law Offices recently won two important victories on behalf of children with disabilities in federal court. In two separate cases, the federal court in Philadelphia overturned decisions of the Pennsylvania Appeals Panel and found in favor of children with disabilities and their families.Read More →
McAndrews Law Offices Have Speakers Available for your organization. We provide dozens of seminars and presentations each year to relevant organizations in the field of Special Education, Estate Planning, Special Needs Trusts. Our attorneys regularly speak at national, state, and local organizations such as parent groups, Bar Associations, community organizations, advocacy groups, and similar organizations. These presentations are provided at no cost, are educational in nature, and no marketing of our services is presented. If you would like to schedule a speaker for your organization, please contact Sarah Locher at 610-648-9300, and we will be happy to arrange a presentation for you.Read More →
Services for Exceptional Children in Private Schools On September 26, 2007, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a long-awaited decision in Lower Merion School District v. Doe. Read More →
Federal Court in Pennsylvania Awards Compensatory Education in a Monetary Fund The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania recently found that a school district’s failure to provide an appropriate educational program required an award of compensatory education, and held that the award of compensatory education must be placed in a fund with a specified monetary amount for the child. Read More →