Significant SCOTUS Decision on Perez v. Sturgis



In January, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in a special education case out of Michigan known as Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools. Last week the Court decided that individuals who have entered into a settlement resolving their IDEA claims can also pursue monetary damages against school districts under the Americans with Disabilities Act without exhausting the administrative process under IDEA. The decision reverses one from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. However, the 9-0 decision in Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools did not address whether IDEA’s requirement to exhaust its administrative process can be sidestepped in cases where completing the process would be “futile” and whether ADA should provide financial compensation to the student.

AASA filed an amicus in support of the district, arguing that a decision against the district would lead to increased litigation and decreased collaboration between parents and students. Our amicus was written by our friends at Thompson & Horton LLC and they have just issued a blog post we are cross-posting here, so ESAs and the schools they serve can better understand the decision and what it means for special education disputes moving forward. We encourage you to read their post and to reach out with questions.

Medicaid Unwinding

There is a major healthcare coverage change happening that will impact students in your districts who currently rely on Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for health insurance. Since the pandemic’s Public Health Emergency began in March 2020, children and families enrolled in Medicaid have not been required to complete renewal paperwork in order to stay covered. Beginning April 1, 2023, this continuous coverage protection will end and eligibility will be checked for all people enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP to ensure they still qualify. During this process, known as the “unwinding,” it is estimated that 6.7 million children will lose their Medicaid coverage despite the large majority of them continue to be eligible for either Medicaid or CHIP. For the latest updates on the monitoring of the unwinding of the continuous coverage provision (as it’s called), visit Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. You can also see how many students in your school district/state were enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP on the center’s website. Check out our district toolkit for more ways to help keep families in your district/state covered.