The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals recently dismissed an IDEA claim of a noncustodial parent, based on the fact that he did not have any legal authority to make educational decisions on behalf of his disabled child. While school districts have historically struggled to clarify the decision-making authority in cases of divorced parents, this case clarifies that the rights of a noncustodial parent will depend on the authority bestowed by custody decrees and in applicable state law. 

Fuentes v. Board of Education, 109 LRP 34126 (2d Cir. 2009)