On Nov 15, Doug Mann wrote: "If memory serves, several years ago the
Minnesota legislature passed a law that obligates the state to fully
reimburse the district for legal costs associated with fighting claims by
parents for special education services, win or lose."
This is not correct, Doug, but I know where it comes from. In her last
session as a state rep and chair of the House ed ctte, Rep. Becky Kelso
waged war with a bill that said that parents who pursued a due process
hearing vs a school district based on denial of educational rights would be
liable for all district legal and other costs if they did not prevail at
hearing. It is not unheard of for districts to spend hundred of thousands of
dollars on attorney costs fighting parents, so the intent of the legislation
was clearly to make the process too dangerous for parents to pursue and
therefore to shut them up. Kelso acknowledged this and her testimony before
her own ctte still rings in the ears of parent/child advocates who fought
this--in the view of Kelso and the district administration interests behind
the bill: "Parents just have too much power." It was an incredibly bitter
fight and I will spare the ugly details. Kelso was not able to bury parents
but was able to shift financial burden for some district attorney costs to
the state that year. However, we got rid of that (and voters got rid of
Kelso) the next session--largely because districts and their lawyers did not
want to have to report their legal fees to the state. The face-saving bone
thrown to Rep. Kelso that remains in law was the compromise offered by DCFL
for the State to pick up administrative costs associated with due process
hearings--transcripts, hearing rooms, administrative law judge fees, etc.
Kathy Kosnoff
KOSNOFF FOR KIDS Campaign
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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