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Florence County School District Four

v.

Shannon Carter

Ebony Wright

Introduction to Special Education 203

Landmark Court Case

Thurs. Oct 4, 2018

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Florence County School District Four v. Shannon Carter (Wrights Law) is a case

about a learning disabled ninth grade student named Shannon Carter, whose parents

disagreed with the plan and execution of her Individual Education Plan (IEP). Her

parents did not believe she was receiving an appropriate education. They claimed that

through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which states that all

children with learning disabilities are allowed the right to have a Free and Appropriate

Public Education (FAPE), and that they should be reimbursed for putting their child in a

private school. However, the private school did not meet all the states requirements for

special education. In this case, the reason the private school failed to meet state

education standards was because two staff members were not state certified, and the

school did not write IEP’s. However, the private school was still found extremely capable in

providing the best overall education for Shannon.

This was a landmark case because it allowed a child to be sent to a private

school, receive a better education, and reimbursement to the parents even if the private

school did not meet the state requirements. It made the school district look within itself

and either fix the shortcomings or transfer the student with a disability to a better school.

Many districts were not reflective enough to accept that fact and send a child with

disabilities to a private school or weren’t willing to face the negative effects

reimbursement and paying for private entities could financially have on a district. Still,

parents that could afford to put their child in a private school had a risky option with no

guarantee they would be reimbursed because the district would have to be found

negligent within the rules of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The court

found it unreasonable that the state didn’t allow reimbursement to parents for private
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schools that were not on a preapproved list meeting the states requirements, if the

education was better and appropriate for children with disabilities. This case made it to

the Supreme Court to decide if the school district was in violation of IDEA, 84 Stat. 175

and should reimbursement be allowed to the parents when a private school did not

meet the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

In the end, Shannon Carter’s parents were reimbursed because the Florence

County School District Four failed to give Shannon Carter an appropriate education for

her level of disabilities. Her progress in the private school was substantially better than

in the public school with smaller teacher student ratios, and more frequent evaluations

than a typical state mandated Individual Education Plan. Testimony from the court

experts, determined that the astounding progress she made was far better in

comparison to the public school, resulting in the reimbursement of tuition and other

expenses back to her parents (Lori E. Arons, Attorney at Law). This case showed that a

private school doesn’t necessarily have to meet the Individuals with Disabilities

Education Act requirements for an appropriate education and reimbursement to the

parents.
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References

2018, Lori E. Arons, ESQ Attorney at Law. Landmark Cases. Retrieved from
http://specialeducationlawyemj.com/special-education-law/landmark-cases-in-
special-education-law
2008, March. 09. Wrights Law. Retrieved from
http://www.wrightslaw.com/law/caselaw/ussupct.carter.htm