UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

┐ WILLIAM A., a student, by and through his parents, │ E.A. and C.A., │ Plaintiff-Appellee, │ > No. 24-5591 │ v. │ │ CLARKSVILLE-MONTGOMERY COUNTY SCHOOL │ SYSTEM, │ Defendant-Appellant. │ ┘

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee at Nashville. No. 3:23-cv-00912—Aleta Arthur Trauger, District Judge.

Decided and Filed: February 3, 2025

Before: SUTTON, Chief Judge; KETHLEDGE and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.

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COUNSEL ON BRIEF: John D. Kitch, Rebecca Wells, Demaree, CORNELIUS & COLLINS, LLP, Nashville, Tennessee, for Appellant. Justin S. Gilbert, GILBERT LAW, PLC, Chattanooga, Tennessee, Jessica F. Salonus, THE SALONUS FIRM, PLC, Jackson, Tennessee, for Appellee. _________________

OPINION _________________

KETHLEDGE, Circuit Judge. William A. is dyslexic and graduated from high school with a 3.4 grade-point average. Yet even then he could not read. The school now challenges an order that it provide him with compensatory education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. We affirm the order. No. 24-5591 William A. v. CMCSS Page 2

I.

A.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) offers federal money to states to help them educate children with disabilities. 20 U.S.C. § 1400. As a condition of accepting this money, states agree to provide disabled children with a “free appropriate public education”—one designed to meet each disabled child’s unique needs. Id. §§ 1401(29), 1412(a)(1). For each child that the IDEA covers, a “team”—including teachers, school administrators, parents, and sometimes the child himself—collaborates to develop an individualized education plan (which the Act calls an “IEP”). Id. § 1414. The IEP tailors educational services to the child’s “unique needs,” and includes goals for the child’s progress and a plan to achieve them. Bd. of Educ. v. Rowley, 458 U.S. 176, 181 (1982); 20 U.S.C. § 1414(d). At least once a year, the team meets to review the plan and make adjustments as needed. 20 U.S.C. § 1414(d). To encourage consensus, the IDEA provides for a “preliminary meeting” of team members and for mediation of disputes. Id. § 1415(f). But if those processes fail, parents may seek a “due-process hearing,” over which an impartial adjudicator from a state or local educational agency presides. Id. After the adjudicator decides, the losing party may seek redress in state or federal court. Id. § 1415(i)(2).

B.

In 2016, William A. enrolled in the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System (which we refer to as “the school”) as a fifth grader. Soon afterward, the school determined he had a learning disability that impaired his skills in reading, writing, and math. To address that disability, the school devel