The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
provides federal funding for the education of children with disabilities and requires, as a condition
for the receipt of such funds, the provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE). It also
contains detailed due process procedures, including a provision for attorneys' fees. The Supreme
Court has examined various issues under IDEA,(1) and in Arlington Central School District v. Murphy held, in a
decision authored by Justice Alito, that parents who prevail in a suit against a school district may not
recover expert witness fees.