Cheryl Blanchard v. Morton School District Russ Davis Regine Aleksunas, Se Teacher Jim Grossman, Slp Robyn Goodwin, Principal

This is an action by the mother of a child with autism, who seeks damages for the mother’s own emotional distress caused by the conduct of the defendants, the Morton School District and its current and former employees, in providing special education services to her son. The district court dismissed the action for failure to exhaust administrative remedies under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”), 20 U.S.C. §§ 1400-1482 . We reverse, because there were no administrative remedies available for her to exhaust. We remand to the district court to consider the merits of her claims.

Plaintiff Cheryl Blanchard’s son is enrolled in a special education program provided by the Morton School District (“District”). Blanchard, pro se, represented her son in a series of administrative actions against the District, alleging that the District failed to accommodate him under the IDEA. In 2000, an administrative law judge concluded that the District had not properly implemented the student’s individualized education plan and had denied the student a free appropriate public education as mandated by section 1415 of the IDEA. The administrative law judge ordered the District to…