Our mission is to empower children and adults with developmental disabilities to achieve their potential based on personal choices, abilities and interests...
Westchester Arc
The Gleeson-Israel Gateway Center
265 Saw Mill River Road
Hawthorne, NY 10532
914.949.9300
info@westchesterarc.org
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Governor Signs
Burden of Proof Bill
Governor Eliot Spitzer signed “Burden of Proof” legislation (A-3583) on August 15, reinstating the longstanding New York practice of having school districts bear the burden of proof during special ed hearings. The bill, overwhelmingly supported by both houses of the state Legislature for two years running, had been vetoed by Governor Pataki in 2006 in response to a campaign by educational administrators. Governor Spitzer resisted similar lobbying this time around, and his support will benefit over 400,000 students with disabilities throughout New York. We thank all members of the Westchester Arc “family” for their phone calls, emails and faxes to the governor’s office, asking that he approve this bill. Its enactment is testimony to the power of grassroots organizing and to the courage and integrity of our new governor.
The new legislation remedies a U.S. Supreme Court decision—Schaffer v. Weast—stating that, absent a state law to the contrary, parents bear the burden of proof in hearings over Individual Educational Plans (IEPs). That meant that parents were charged with presenting their case, making legal arguments, examining and cross-examining witnesses, and adhering to the procedural requirements of a hearing. For families unable to afford legal representation, the burden has been huge.
The pre-Schaffer status quo in New York State recognized that, in a dispute, school districts bring to bear resources which few parents can match. By giving districts the burden of proof , it sought to level the playing field between parents and school districts. This newly signed legislation reinstates a New York practice which had served parents of students with developmental disabilities well since the inception of special education in 1975.
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