The IDEA Fairness Restoration Act is an American legislative proposal first introduced in the United States House of Representatives on November 14, 2007, as H.R.4188.
[4] In 1986, Congress passed the Handicapped Children’s Protection Act, allowing parents who prevail in due process hearings and litigation under the IDEA to recover their legal fees and costs.
[7] Congress’ Joint Conference Committee Report explained that the courts would have discretion to award attorneys’ fees as part of the costs of litigation.
The Court ruled that because the statutory text of the IDEA did not explicitly state that expert witness fees were covered, parents could not recover them.
The Court reasoned that because the IDEA was enacted under the Spending Clause of the Constitution, Article I, Section 8, the law must “unambiguously” give notice in its statutory text that parents could recover fees.
[12] The IDEA Fairness Restoration Act will enable them to also recover the reasonable costs of expert witnesses.
[13] The bill will align the IDEA with other civil rights statutes that permit recovery of expert witness fees, including Title VII,[14] and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
In these cases, IDEA provides parents the right to challenge the schools through mediation and due process.
To make their argument, families often need access to expert witnesses who can assess the student's needs and testify about whether the current IEP meets those needs.