Chad Richardson, et ux., Individually and as Parents and Next Friends of L v. Omaha School District

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq., offers states federal funds for committing to provide a “free appropriate public education” for every child with a disability. Endrew F. ex rel. Joseph F. v. Douglas Cty. Sch. Dist. RE1, 137 S. Ct. 988, 993–94 (2017). To enforce that guarantee, parents may initiate a “due process hearing” before a state or local IDEA hearing officer. 20 U.S.C. § 1415(f)(1)(A), (g). And if they are still “aggrieved” after exhausting administrative procedures, they may seek judicial review within 90 days, unless state law provides a different limitations period. Id. § 1415(i)(2)(A), (B). The IDEA also provides a separate cause of action for attorneys’ fees for parents who prevail in those administrative proceedings. Id. § 1415(i)(3)(B)(i)(I). But the IDEA contains no limitations period for prevailing parents’ attorneys’ fees actions. Given Congress’ silence, the Ninth and Eleventh Circuits borrow years-long state statutes of limitations, because they analogize fees actions to independent lawsuits separate from the underlying merits of the IDEA administrative proceedings. The Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Circuits, in contrast, borrow far shorter periods designed for judicial review of IDEA administrative merits decisions, because they find fees actions merely ancillary to the underlying educational dispute. The question presented is: What type of state statute of limitations should courts borrow for attorneys’ fees actions under 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(3)(B)(i)(I)?