Children with disabilities can receive tuition assistance to cover the costs of private school.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed a lower court decision that required the City of New York to reimburse the parents of a learning-disabled child who attended a special education program at a private school.
The decision in the case of Board of Education of New York v. Tom F. is expected to be a boon for Orthodox children with educational challenges. At issue was whether the federal Individuals with Disability Act required parents to first enroll their learning disabled children in public schools to determine if those schools were adequate to address their needs.
“There are many learning disabled children in the Orthodox community who receive their education in non-public schools. This will yield a significant benefit for them,†said Nathan Diament, the public affairs director for the Orthodox Union who helped draft the original disability act, or IDEA.
Diament said the law guarantees a “free and appropriate” education to children with learning disabilities, “and no parent should be forced to enroll their child in an inadequate school as a precondition for getting their child the educational program the IDEA promises them.â€
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