## Facts

- Parents of children with disabilities sued the District of Columbia and District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) for repeated failures to comply with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), including failures tied to special-education placements and IDEA dispute procedures.
- In multiple instances, DCPS either did not provide an appropriate special-education placement or proposed a placement the parents disputed.
- After disputes arose, DCPS did not provide timely IDEA due-process hearings as required by the statute and implementing regulations.
- Parents obtained federal court orders directing the District to provide timely, impartial hearings, but DCPS continued to miss required timelines in a number of individual matters.
- The court consolidated related matters into class litigation and appointed a Special Master to review individual class members’ requests for relief and to issue reports and recommendations.
- The Special Master recommended preliminary injunctions for several students, reasoning that delayed hearings and the resulting delay in services risked harm that could not be repaired later.
- The District objected to the recommendations, arguing that a missed or delayed hearing did not justify injunctive relief unless the parents also proved separate, case-specific harm beyond the loss of the IDEA procedure and resulting delay.

## Issues

1. Whether DCPS’s failure to provide timely IDEA due-process hearings and related procedural protections may constitute irreparable harm sufficient to support preliminary injunctive relief, without an additional showing of distinct injury in each case.
2. Whether the district court should adopt the Special Master’s reports recommending preliminary injunctions for class members based on DCPS’s delays in providing IDEA hearings and resolving placement disputes.

## Decision

- The court reviewed the Special Master’s recommendations and the District’s objections under the standards governing preliminary injunctions and review of a Special Master’s findings.
- The court rejected the District’s position that parents must prove a separate, additional form of harm beyond the consequences of missed IDEA timelines and delayed access to appropriate educational services.
- The court concluded that, for students entitled to IDEA protections, extended delay in receiving a due-process hearing (and the delay in resolving and delivering appropriate services that often follows) can qualify as irreparable harm for purposes of preliminary relief.
- The court granted preliminary injunction relief consistent with the Special Master’s recommendations, ordering DCPS to take prompt steps to provide the required hearings and move the disputes toward resolution within enforceable time limits.

## Legal Principles

- A preliminary injunction may issue when the moving party shows (among other factors) a likelihood of success on the merits and a risk of irreparable harm absent immediate relief; the court also weighs the equities and the public interest.
- IDEA provides enforceable procedural protections, including the right to an impartial due-process hearing within required timelines designed to ensure prompt resolution of disputes over special-education services.
- In the IDEA context, delays that keep a child from timely receiving appropriate educational decision-making and services may cause harm that cannot be fully repaired after the fact, supporting injunctive relief.
- When a court appoints a Special Master to evaluate and report on individual requests for relief within ongoing class litigation, the court may rely on the Special Master’s factual development and recommendations while independently deciding the legal questions and the proper scope of relief.
- A party’s noncompliance with IDEA timelines and prior court orders may support a finding that immediate court-ordered action is necessary to secure the statutory process and prevent ongoing harm to affected students.

## Conclusion

In *Blackman v. District of Columbia*, the district court granted preliminary injunctive relief for class members whose IDEA disputes were stalled by DCPS’s failure to provide timely due-process hearings, holding that prolonged delay in the IDEA hearing process and the associated delay in receiving appropriate educational services can amount to irreparable harm without requiring parents to prove an additional, distinct injury in each individual case.


Blackman v. District of Columbia, 277 F. Supp. 2d 71 (2003)