COPAA urged the Massachusetts legislature to enact H.4217, which would restore the burden of proof in special education due process hearings to school districts in order to ensure that students with disabilities and their families have meaningful access to due process. “These students and their families deserve a fair hearing system that does not disadvantage them simply because they lack the resources of a public school district. By ensuring that districts bear the burden of proving their own educational decisions are appropriate, H.4217 levels the playing field, promotes high-quality IEP development, reduces unnecessary litigation, ensures hearings focus on substantive appropriateness rather than procedural inequities, and aligns Massachusetts with other states that have enacted similar protections,” according to the letter of support signed by COPAA CEO Denise Marshall and Director of State Policy Chris Roe.