All wordsdefault
autism iepReturns documents that mention bothterms. Order doesn’t matter.
Guide
How to get the most out of the site.
A quick reference for searching the database and understanding what you see in your results, with examples you can copy.
01
Searching the database
By default, a query matches documents that contain every word you type. These operators let you broaden, narrow, or sharpen that match.
"extended school year" autism -denied⏎
An exact phrase, plus a required keyword, with one term excluded, all in one query.
Any ofOR
autism OR dyslexiaBroadens the search; either word may appear. Useful for synonyms or related conditions.
ExcludeNOT · -
compensatory -deniedFilters out any document containing the excluded term. NOT works too.
Exact phrase"…"
"extended school year"Words must appear together, in order. Best for statutory phrases and terms of art.
Word stems*
neuro*Matches every word that starts with the stem, like neurological, neuropsych, neurodevelopmental, &c.
Near each other/n /s /p
parent /s prevailedSame sentence. Use /5 for within five words, /p for same paragraph.
Combine for precision
Mix any of the above in a single query. The filters in the sidebar (year, hearing officer, district…) layer on top.
"extended school year" autism -denied year:202402
Appeals
NewBy default, searches cover the administrative appeal record. These are decisions and rulings from the hearing officers (or Administrative Law Judges) who decide special education cases. You can also include federal court appeals in your search; these are appeals of the administrative hearings.
ADMINISTRATIVEincluded by default
Hearing decisions & rulings
The starting point for almost every dispute, which are issued by hearing officers in the administrative process. This is the bulk of the database.
APPEALopt‑in scope
Federal court appeals
When a party appeals to federal court, the resulting opinion sits alongside the original decision and can be searched together with it.
Turn appeals on from the scope chips at the top of every search results page (try clicking “Appeals” below).
Search in:Administrative only
DECISIONNo. 24‑0142
Mar 14, 2024In re: Student v. Riverside Regional Schools
Parent Prevailed· Hearing Officer Marshall
RULINGNo. 24‑0118
Feb 22, 2024Procedural ruling on motion to compel discovery
Hearing Officer Vance
- 1Toggle
Click Appeals at the top of any results page to mix federal opinions into the list.
- 2Narrow
Open the caret menu to pick specific courts: Circuit Court of Appeals, individual District Courts, &c.
- 3Spot
Federal results are marked with the tan APPEAL badge, so they’re easy to pick out.
03
Appeal alerts
NewWhen a decision is affected by an appeal, either its own or one of the cases it relies on, a small colored appeal alert appears at the top of the decision page. Click an alert to read what happened.
How the alerts appear in the decision header
Back to resultsDECISIONNo. 24‑0142Parent Prevailed
Relies on overturned authority
Click another alert to swapThis decision cites a case that was later reversed by the federal Court of Appeals. The proposition it relies on may no longer be good law, so review the cited authority before relying on it.
Doe v. Riverside Regional Schools, 89 F.4th 412 (1st Cir. 2024)View related case
Caution
Relies on overturned authority
The decision cites a case that was later reversed, vacated, or modified. The reasoning may no longer be good law.
Warning
Reversed or modified on appeal
This decision was reversed, vacated, modified, or remanded by a federal court. Read the appellate opinion before relying on the result.
On appeal
Currently on appeal
A notice of appeal has been filed. Briefing or argument is in progress; no appellate decision has issued yet.
04
Reading a result card
Every result is summarized at a glance with a handful of labels. Here’s what each one means.
APPEAL1st Cir.No. 23‑1894
Doe v. Riverside Regional Schools
District PrevailedRiverside Regional Schools·Hon. K. Sutherland
…the parents’ challenge to the IEP centered on the adequacy of extended school year services. The court agreed with the district that the proposed program was reasonably calculated to enable progress…
APPEAL
Type, Appeal
A federal court decision in a case that started administratively. Tan badge.
DECISION
Type, Decision
A final administrative decision on the merits. Neutral gray badge.
RULING
Type, Ruling
An interlocutory or procedural ruling (motions, discovery, scheduling). Cool gray.
1st Cir.
Court (appeals only)
Which federal court issued the opinion, like the Circuit Court of Appeals, District Court, &c.
Outcome labels
Parent Prevailed
The student or family won the principal claim.
District Prevailed
The school district or agency was upheld.
Mixed Result
Each side won on some claims, lost on others.
Dismissed
Resolved without a ruling on the merits, whether withdrawn, settled, or procedurally dismissed.
Everything else on a card
- Case #
- Docket or case number.
- Date
- When the decision was issued.
- District
- The school district or agency involved.
- Officer
- The hearing officer or judge who authored the decision.
05
Citing decisions
Every decision page builds a properly formatted citation for you. There are two ways to grab one, depending on whether you want the bare cite or the cite alongside a quoted passage.
Way 1 · Click the Cite button for the bare citation
Decision page action barSaveCiteShare
Cite This Case
In re: Student v. Riverside Regional Schools, BSEA # 24-0142 (September 9, 2024)
Copy Citation
For federal appeals, a pinpoint page field appears so you can drop in a reporter page.
Way 2 · Highlight a passage to pair it with the citation
The hearing officer concluded that the proposed IEP did not offer a free appropriate public education because the program failed to address the student’s documented need for extended school year services, and ordered the District to reconvene the Team within thirty days.
Quote with citation
Citation with quote in parentheses
Add case to folder with quote
Quote with citation
“the program failed to address the student’s documented need for extended school year services.” In re: Student v. Riverside Regional Schools, BSEA # 24-0142 (September 9, 2024).
Quote leads, citation supports.
Citation with quote in parentheses
In re: Student v. Riverside Regional Schools, BSEA # 24-0142 (September 9, 2024) (“the program failed to address the student’s documented need for extended school year services.”).
Citation leads, quote parenthetical.
06
Save to folders
Sign in with an account to organize cases into private folders, jot notes about each one, and pick up your research where you left off. Highlighted quotes go straight into the folder’s notes.
One click to file a case into any folder you’ve made
Decision page action bar · signed inSaveCiteShare
Save to Folder
ASD Cases12
ESY Disputes4
Reading Disorders7
New folder
Your dashboard collects everything you’ve saved
Dashboard
Manage your folders and saved decisions
My FoldersSavedSearches
ASD Cases
12 decisions
Updated May 12
ESY Disputes
4 decisions
Updated May 8
Reading Disorders
7 decisions
Updated Apr 30
Recently saved
In re: Student v. Riverside Regional Schools
Decision · Sep 9, 2024 · Hon. K. Sutherland
ESY Disputes
In re: Student v. Hartfield Public Schools
Decision · Aug 4, 2024 · Hon. R. Lin
ASD Cases
In re: Student v. Marlin Charter School
Ruling · Jul 18, 2024 · Hon. M. Powell
Reading Disorders
Private
All folders are private to your account. No one else can see what you’ve saved or noted.
Notes per case
Each saved decision has a freeform notes field, and quotes you highlight append themselves to it.
Export
Dashboard › Export to Excel ships every saved decision and its notes in a single spreadsheet.