The United States Supreme Court declined to review a case involving a request for compensatory damages for claims based on rights created by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. 1401 et seq ("IDEA"). Burke v. Brookline School District, No. 07-1175. This decision implicitly re-affirms the theory that plaintiffs cannot recover compensatory damages for claims based on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

In August 2006, the plaintiffs filed suit against the Brookline School District, seeking $250,000.00 in compensatory damages. Burke v. Brookline Sch. Dist., No. 06cv317-JD (D.N.H. filed Aug. 25, 2006). In lieu of answering, the Brookline School District, represented by Attorneys Dean B. Eggert and Alison M. Minutelli, moved to dismiss for failure to state a claim on which relief may be granted. The School District argued that as a matter of law, Petitioners could not recover monetary damages for their claims, all of which were premised on rights created by the IDEA. See Diaz-Fonseca v. Puerto Rico, 451 F.3d 13, 19 (1st Cir. 2006). The School District also sought dismissal based on the Petitioners' failure to exhaust their administrative remedies. See 20 U.S.C. § 1415(l).

The District Court granted the Brookline School District's Motion to Dismiss, holding that the plaintiffs had not "allege[d] an independent claim under the ADA but instead allege[d] an IDEA-based claim in the guise of the ADA," and that they had not alleged "a separate and independent cause of action" under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The District Court also noted that it did not appear that the plaintiffs had exhausted their administrative remedies. Plaintiffs' appealed; in December 2007 the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit summarily affirmed the District Court's decision " in accord with Diaz-Fonseca" v. Puerto Rico, 451 F.3d 13 (1st Cir. 2006). See Burke v. Brookline School District, No. 07-1645 (1st Cir. Dec. 13, 2007).