Facts:  Alleging that their children were the victims of intentional torts, outrage, negligence, and unlawful discrimination, petitioner Mitch Dowler and his wife In Cha, in conjunction with ten other parents of special education students enrolled in the respondent Clover Park School District #400, filed suit against the Clover Park School District in the Superior Court for Pierce County.  The superior court granted summary judgment for the Clover Park School District, ruling that Dowler and the other plaintiffs had failed to exhaust their administrative remedies prior to filing suit as required by the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (20 U.S.C. §§1400-1490).  Dowler appealed this decision directly to the Supreme Court of Washington.

Question(s):  Was Dowler required by the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act to exhaust his administrative remedies prior to filing suit?

Conclusion:  Justice James M. Johnson’s opinion for a unanimous Court reversed the superior court, concluding that the Disabilities in Education Act’s requirement that administrative remedies be exhausted prior to filing a civil action is limited to claims arising under federal law relating to the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of a child with special needs and does not apply to claims such as Dowler’s that arise under state law.  Thus, the Court remanded the case for trial.

Docket No. 84048-2 (from Pierce Case No. 06-2-08565-1)

Petitioner: Mitch Dowler

(Counsel: Philip Albert Talmadge, Thaddeus Phillip Martin IV, and Emmelyn Hart)

Respondent: Clover Park School District #400

(Counsel: William A. Coats, Henry Andrew Saller, Jr., and Daniel C. Montopoli)

Briefs:

Argument: Tuesday, May 17, 2011 9:00am

[Source: TVW, http://tvw.org]

Decided: Thursday, August 25th, 2011

Prevailing Party: Mitch Dowler (Petitioner)

Vote: 9-0

Citation: Pending

Madsen

Johnson

Alexander

Chambers

Owens

Fairhurst

Johnson
(Majority)

Stephens

Wiggins