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Makeup services in special education

Chichester School District v. S. M.

Updated Nov 12, 2026

In brief

Where it stands
Petition Pending

Awaiting an order on the petition

No decision timeline until the Court agrees to hear the case.

What it’s about
Chichester School District has asked the Supreme Court to review disputes under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): whether special-education claims omitted from a state hearing may be brought in federal court during an appeal, and how make-up education should be awarded.
What's at stake
The student's dispute with the school district remains unresolved while the Supreme Court decides whether to hear the district's challenge.

Summary: written with AI from the case record.

What it's about

The petition also asks whether an award can require a student’s permanent residential-school placement without considering the full education-planning process.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the law at the center of the student's special-education dispute.

Question presented

1. As a question of exceptional importance and matter of first impression, whether the IDEA’s exhaustion requirements under 20 U.S.C. §1415(f)(3)(B), (i) permits a party to pursue claims of a denial of a free and appropriate education (“FAPE”) and/or compensatory education through a district court during an appeal of a state administrative hearing officer’s opinion, where those claims were not presented at that same administrative proceeding? 2. As a question of exceptional importance and matter of first impression, whether awards for compensatory education under the IDEA require considerations beyond the exact hours of a deprivation of a free and appropriate education such as a school district’s reasonable efforts to rectify the denial of FAPE; the equities of the parties; the needs to of student to recover from the deprivation in; or reliance on court order including decisions of the administrative process? 3. As a matter of exceptional importance and matter of first impression, whether an award for compensatory relief requiring a student’s permanent prospective placement in a residential educational facility, without consideration of the comprehensive IEP process, violates the statutory language of the IDEA and the due process rights of all parties, as established by the IDEA?

What happens next

The Court's next step is to decide whether to hear the petition. No argument or decision date is scheduled.

Documents

2

Docket activity

6
  • New analysis added

    Nov 12, 2026 · Court records

  • AI analysis generated: Case Briefing

    Nov 12, 2026 · Generated

  • Case data updated: summary, question_presented, generation_metadata

    Nov 12, 2026 · Court records

  • Case data updated: question_presented, extraction_metadata

    Nov 12, 2026 · Court records

  • Brief added: Petition

    Oct 13, 2026 · Court records

Show 1 more
  • Court Order added: Lower Court Orders/Opinions

    Sep 2, 2026 · Court records

Sources

Primary materials plus reporting. Best-effort analysis: this explainer relies on a mix of primary materials and trusted secondary sources. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.

Checked Nov 12, 2026Methodology

Court records and filings

Reporting and analysis