Osseo Area Schools v. M.N.B., No. 18-3255 (8th Cir. 2020)
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Independent of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Minnesota has adopted an "open enrollment" process that allows a parent to enroll a student in a school outside of the student's local district.
The Eighth Circuit held that the IDEA does not require a school district that enrolls a nonresident student like M.N.B. to provide transportation between the student's home and the school district where her parent has chosen to enroll her. The court saw nothing in the IDEA that provides clear notice to a state that it must cover transportation expenses when a student's travel is the result of a parent's choice under an open enrollment program. Therefore, under the circumstances presented here, the court concluded that the IDEA does not require the Osseo District to reimburse M.N.B.'s parent for the cost of transportation between her home and the border of the Osseo District. The court reversed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of M.N.B.
Court Description: [Colloton, Author, with Wollman and Benton, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The IDEA does not require a school district that enrolls a nonresident student, such as MNB, to provide transportation between the student's home and the school district where her parent has chosen to enroll her; the court finds nothing in the IDEA that provides clear notice to a state that it must cover transportation costs when a student's travel is the result of a parent's choice under the state's open enrollment program.
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