Last week, COPAA and several other advocacy organizations filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in support of a student with a disability who is in the foster care system in Y.C.Q. v. Chichester School District. You can read the brief Y.C.Q. v. Chichester here.

In this case, the due process hearing officer agreed with the student and ordered a change in her Individualized Education Program (“IEP”) program and placement. The school district appealed the decision, and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania reversed, but in doing so disregarded the student’s “stay-put” right to attend the ordered placement during the pendency of the appeals process. The amicus brief urges the Third Circuit to reverse the district court’s decision and enforce the student’s right to “stay put” under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”).

In the brief, COPAA and its fellow amici explained that an IDEA hearing officer’s placement decision constitutes a legal agreement between the state and the student’s parent / educational decision maker, thus entitling the student to attend that placement as her “then-current educational placement” pursuant to the “stay-put” right set forth in 20 U.S.C. § 1415(j), which operates as an automatic injunction to maintain the student’s placement during the entirety of the litigation, including appeals. 

COPAA was joined on the brief by fellow amici the Arc of Greater Pittsburgh, Disability Rights Pennsylvania, Juvenile Law Center, the Public Interest Law Center, Kidsvoice, and the National Disability Rights Network. COPAA Legal Director Selene Almazan and COPAA Amicus Committee Co-Chair Catherine Merino Reisman wrote the brief.