Help Parents of Students with ADHD Recover Expert Witness Fees!

PLEASE CALL YOUR CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES ON Tuesday, MAY 6, AND ASK THEM TO CO-SPONSOR THE IDEA FAIRNESS RESTORATION ACT, H.R. 4188. 

Find your Representative's Phone Number HERE.

The CHADD Public Policy Team alerted you in February about H.R. 4188, a forthcoming bill that would reimburse expert witness legal fees to parents of children with AD/HD who prevail in a hearing under IDEA.

If there is a dispute between the family and the school system which results in a hearing, the family may want to bring in an expert witness.

Few parents can afford the thousands of dollars needed to pay for expert testimony.  H.R. 4188, introduced by Congressman Chris Van Hollen (Maryland) and Pete Sessions (Texas), will restore Congress' original intent, and enable parents to recover these fees. 

Congress intended for parents to recover their expert witness fees in the Handicapped Children's Protection Act of 1986.  But the Supreme Court in Arlington Central School District v. Murphy (2006) held that the law was not explicit enough and parents could not recover their expert fees.  The IDEA Fairness Restoration Act is necessary to restore Congress' original intent and allow parents to recover fees.   

Congress needs to hear from as many parents and child advocates as possible.
If you cannot call on May 6, it is fine to call afterwards. 

H.R. 4188 is sponsored by 20 representatives, but more cosponsors are needed to help build support for the bill.  The following are already sponsors: Neil Abercrombie (HI), Richard Baker (LA), Earl Blumenauer (OR), Ginny Brown-Waite (FL), Dan Burton (IN), Steve Cohen (TN), Danny Davis (IL), Peter DeFazio (OR), Charles Gonzalez (TX), Michael Honda (CA), Ray LaHood (IL), Zoe Lofgren (CA), James Moran (VA), Grace Napolitano (CA), Donald Payne (NJ), Janice Schakowsky (IL), Pete Sessions (TX), Pete Stark (CA), Chris Van Hollen (MD), and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL).  We thank them for their support!  Let's add more!

Want more information?

Click here for Reimbursement for Expert Legal Fees Web Posting