The Autism Speaks Federal Legal Appeals Project (FLAP) is a pro bono initiative at the federal level through which Autism Speaks and member law firms provide legal assistance in appropriate federal cases that have the potential to serve as legal precedent. Autism Speaks board member Gary Mayerson directs the activities of the FLAP and coordinates with its member law firms.

Amicus Brief Filed in Supreme Court In Forest Grove Case

On April 1, 2009, Gary Mayerson and attorneys from the law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld filed an amicus brief with the United States Supreme Court in Forest Grove School District v. T.A. (Forest Grove), a case that had originated in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
The salient issue in Forest Grove is whether or not a parent has “standing” to challenge their child's Individualized Education Program (IEP) and seek reimbursement relief if that parent has never before “tried out” the school district's recommended program. The Ninth Circuit, consistent with the Second Circuit in the Tom F. case, held that a parent need not try out the district's program to gain standing to challenge the IEP and seek reimbursement relief. The position of the school district on the appeal is that even if the district's IEP program is demonstrably inappropriate, a parent must still first “try” that program to gain standing to sue and seek reimbursement relief.

Given the importance of early and effective intervention programs for children with autism, Autism Speaks firmly believes that adopting a rule requiring parents to first “try out” demonstrably inappropriate educational programs would be costly and destructive, and possibly devastating for many thousands of families who must be free to take advantage of their child's window of opportunity in those instances where the local school district is unable or unwilling to do so.

To access a PDF version of the amicus brief Autism Speaks filed in Forest Grove, click here. This is Autism Speaks' second trip to the United States Supreme Court. Many thanks to Robert H. Pees, Sunish Gulati, Chistopher M. Egleson, Christopher J. Clore and Jennifer Frankola for their efforts.

Autism Speaks Wins Legal Victory In Student X Case Concerning “Pendency” Entitlements

Earlier this year, in the Student X case, the Autism Speaks FLAP, represented by Mayerson & Associates and attorney Anton Papakhin, Esq., won an important victory in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. In that case, one of the salient issues was whether or not a student's statutory “pendency” entitlements continue during the pendency of a federal appeal, or whether such entitlements end when the student's appeal at the administrative level concludes. United States District Court Judge Nicholas Garaufis held that the student's pendency entitlements continue during the pendency of a federal appeal, and that because New York City had failed and refused to honor and implement Student X's pendency entitlements, he was entitled to receive, as “compensatory” relief, more than a year's worth of Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) and speech therapy.

Initially, New York City noticed an appeal from Judge Garaufis' decision. However, the day after New York City filed its appeal brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, New York City withdrew its appeal. Accordingly, Judge Garaufis' decision in Student X is now final and non-appealable and may be relied upon by numerous other families to protect pendency entitlements.

While far reaching precedent is an important objective, for the family, the objective is always much closer to home. We wish to share the following letter of thanks Autism Speaks has received from the mother of Student X:

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the hard work and dedication Autism Speaks and the Federal LegalAppeals Project has put forth in my case.

Before the Autism Speaks Federal Legal Project took on my case, we were in a tough spot. We lost our case at the appeal level to the Office of State Review and our only hope to get some relief was from the Federal Court.

It was a very long struggle, but thanks to you, now [Student X] will receive over a year of ABA and speech and language therapy---services he never would have received but for your efforts.

Our family is so appreciative for the work Autism Speaks and the Federal Legal Appeals Project has done for us. There is no way we could have ever afforded these services ourselves. For this, we are very grateful.

We cannot thank you enough.