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Heather B., Parent and Next Friend of S. S., et al. v. Houston Independent School District, et al.

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, No. 21-20229 · judgment September 19, 2022


Certiorari denied · March 6, 2023
Pre-decision estimate: 2% cert probability

Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.

Question presented

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires states and school districts to identify, locate and evaluate children with disabilities including those attending private schools. 20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(3)(A), 20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(10)(A). The IDEA requires each state and school district to have policies and procedures and a practical method in place to ensure that children are timely identified, a duty known as Child Find. The question presented is: 1. Whether parents of a previously IDEA eligible blind student attending a private school bear any responsibility to give notice of their child’s needs to a state or school district as a pre-condition for a state or school district’s compliance with its affirmative Child Find obligation under the IDEA?

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Sonja D. Kerr
Connell Michael Kerr, LLP

For respondent
Jonathan Griffin Brush
Rogers, Morris & Grover, L.L.P.

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Proceedings

  1. Mar 06 2023
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Feb 15 2023
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/3/2023.
  3. Feb 08 2023
    Waiver of right of respondent Texas Education Agency to respond filed.
  4. Jan 30 2023
    Waiver of right of respondent Pearland Independent School District to respond filed.
  5. Jan 27 2023
    Waiver of right of respondent Houston Independent School District to respond filed.
  6. Jan 20 2023
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due February 27, 2023)