PhotoWASHINGTON — Schools may not settle for minimal educational progress by disabled students, the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday, rejecting a standard that some lower courts have applied, and that the nominee to join the high court, Neil M. Gorsuch, has been criticized for using. The federal Individuals With Disabilities Education Act requires “free appropriate public education” for all children. “When all is said and done, a student offered an educational program providing ‘merely more than de minimis’ progress from year to year can hardly be said to have been offered an education at all,” he wrote. The Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday acknowledged that both the federal law, enacted in 1975 and amended a few times since then, and the 1982 ruling interpreting it, are vague about what schools must do. The Supreme Court did not directly address the question of reimbursement, but sent the case back to the lower courts for consideration.

Source: New York Times March 22, 2017 18:45 UTC