Broadly speaking, a Statute of Limitations in Special Education is a legal device designed to limit the amount of time before a legal claim must be pursued in court.  Different legal claims have different limits, but usually, all limits can be measured in a number of years. The purpose behind a statute of limitations is to encourage timely complaints (when evidence is fresh, memories clear and witnesses available) and to provide clarity as to potential legal claims from the past. Statute of Limitations has everything to do with timing.

Special Education law in Pennsylvania

In special education law in Pennsylvania the courts typically look to a two-year statute of limitation, sometimes called the “two-year look back”, but notable exceptions apply.  This means that in many cases a school district accused of failing to provide a student with a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) will typically seek to limit potential liability to two years from the date the parents filed the complaint, even if the parents allege the FAPE denial occurred many years earlier.  However, the law provides for the courts to do an analysis of when the parents reasonably discovered the FAPE denial, and if it was reasonable for the parents to only discover the alleged problem within two years of filing the complaint, parents can argue their claims can be pursued in court regardless of when they occurred.  In this analysis, Courts will look at evidence such as communications made between the school district and the parents to determine the date the parents knew or should have known of the facts supporting their claims.

In special education law in Pennsylvania the courts typically look to a two-year statute of limitation, sometimes called the “two-year look back”

Exceptions to the rule

Two notable exceptions apply to the “two-year look back” statute of limitations.

  1. If the school district has made specific misrepresentations that it had resolved the problem forming the basis of the parents’ complaint then the two-year statute of limitations may not apply.
  2. If the school district has failed to comply with legally mandated notice provisions to parents then the two-year statute of limitations may also not apply