Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools: Supreme Court Narrows IDEA Exhaustion Requirement

On March 21, 2023, the United States Supreme Court unanimously held in Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools, 143 S. Ct. 859 (2023) that a student with a disability does not have to exhaust the administrative due process procedures of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ("IDEA") before filing a lawsuit seeking compensatory damages under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or other federal anti-discrimination laws. In reversing the lower court decisions, the Court held that the statutory language of the IDEA expressly requires exhaustion through the due process hearing process for lawsuits brought under other federal laws that seek relief that is available under the IDEA, but does not require exhaustion for lawsuits brought under other federal laws that seek relief that is not available under the IDEA, such as compensatory damages. The Court further explained that its decision was consistent with its earlier ruling in Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools, 580 U.S. 154 (2017), in which the Court held that students may proceed with lawsuits without exhausting the IDEA administrative proceedings if the lawsuit does not seek relief for claims that essentially allege a denial of a free appropriate public...