November 4, 2008: Disabled Students - Failure to notify school district prior to removing child from IEP did not bar reimbursement claim.
 
Parents' failure to notify a school district prior to removing their disabled child from a current educational placement and unilaterally transferring the child to a private residential facility located out of state did not categorically bar the parents from asserting a reimbursement claim for the costs of this private facility under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Congress' use of the word "may" rather than "shall" in the pertinent provision of the IDEA authorizing reduction or denial of reimbursement, and the fact that the decisionmaker had the alternatives of either reducing or denying reimbursement, both suggested the discretionary nature of decision. Nonetheless, parents failed to demonstrate that the equities warranted waiving the "notice" requirement of the IDEA by awarding them full or even partial reimbursement for the costs of this private placement.