Full Answer
Absent certain statutory exceptions, parents have two years from the date they knew or should have known of a violation of the IDEA to request a due process hearing through the filing of an administrative complaint, or they will be forever time-barred. If a complaint is timely filed, and liability is proven, the student whose rights were violated ...
§1415 (f) (3) (C), which, in pertinent part, states: “A parent or agency shall request an impartial due process hearing within two years of the date the parent or agency knew or should have known about the alleged action that forms the basis of the complaint…” Thus, under the IDEA, parents generally must file their due process complaint within two years of the date they “knew or should have known” of the alleged violation (often referred to as the KOSHK date), except in limited circumstances when certain equitable tolling provisions built into the statute apply, or unless the governing state has an explicit time limitation for requesting a hearing, in which case state law governs.
§1400 et seq., a federal law intended to ensure that every child with special needs is afforded a free appropriate public education (commonly known as a FAPE). The IDEA ensures that right by mandating that public educational institutions—including school districts, intermediate units and public charter schools—identify, evaluate and effectively educate special needs children, or pay for their education elsewhere if they require specialized services that the public institution cannot provide. The statute broadly authorizes special education hearing officers and federal courts to provide equitable relief, including compensatory education, to children who have been deprived of a FAPE.
Prior to the 2004 reauthorization, the IDEA did not include a statute of limitations. Congress found this problematic, because parents could knowingly wait for many years to file a complaint, resulting in school districts often being surprised by claims involving students who were much older than when the issues giving rise to the claims first presented and, on occasion, involving students who had long since graduated, or moved away, from the district. Congress reasoned that waiting many years to bring actions on behalf of a child jeopardizes the child’s education and creates distrust between parents and school districts.
Debt incurred pursuant to written agreement is subject to a six year statute of limitations from the default event. There are other things that can toll, suspend, or reset this clock, too.
Assuming you had a written fee agreement with the attorney, the statute of limitations on a breach of written contract is six years. The statute of limitations for legal malpractice is two years, so that date has already passed.