Schaffer, a Minor, by His Parents and Next Friends, Schaffer, et Vir, et al. v. Weast, Superintendent, Montgomery County Public Schools, et al.

Decided November 14, 2005. Sandra Day O'Connor delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 04-698 · 546 U.S. 49 (2005) · Cited 752 times

Holding

The burden of persuasion in an administrative hearing challenging an IEP is properly placed upon the party seeking relief, whether that is the disabled child or the school district.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 6–2.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley Ex Rel. Rowley · 458 U.S. 176 (1982)
• St. Mary's Honor Center v. Hicks · 509 U.S. 502 (1993)
• Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs v. Greenwich Collieries · 512 U.S. 267 (1994)
• Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation v. Environmental Protection Agency · 540 U.S. 461 (2004)
• Mathews v. Eldridge · 424 U.S. 319 (1976)
• Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife · 504 U.S. 555 (1992)
• Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 467 U.S. 837 (1984)
• Mt. Healthy City School District Board of Education v. Doyle · 429 U.S. 274 (1977)
• Smith v. Robbins · 528 U.S. 259 (2000)
• O'NEAL v. McAninch · 513 U.S. 432 (1995)
• School Committee of the Town of Burlington v. Department of Education · 471 U.S. 359 (1985)
• Concrete Pipe & Products of Cal., Inc. v. Construction Laborers Pension Trust for Southern Cal. · 508 U.S. 602 (1993)
• Kamen v. Kemper Financial Services, Inc. · 500 U.S. 90 (1991)
• Doran v. Salem Inn, Inc. · 422 U.S. 922 (1975)
• Barnhart v. Walton · 535 U.S. 212 (2002)
• Hunt v. Cromartie · 526 U.S. 541 (1999)
• Cleveland v. Policy Management Systems Corp. · 526 U.S. 795 (1999)
• New State Ice Co. v. Liebmann · 285 U.S. 262 (1932)
• At&T Corp. v. Iowa Utilities Board · 525 U.S. 366 (1999)
• Federal Trade Commission v. Morton Salt Co. · 334 U.S. 37 (1948)
• Nationsbank of North Carolina, N. A. v. Variable Annuity Life Insurance · 513 U.S. 251 (1995)
• Lavine v. Milne · 424 U.S. 577 (1976)
• Wisconsin Department of Health & Family Services v. Blumer · 534 U.S. 473 (2002)
• Irving Independent School District v. Tatro · 468 U.S. 883 (1984)
• United States v. New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad · 355 U.S. 253 (1957)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Medtronic, Inc. v. Mirowski Family Ventures, LLC. · 571 U.S. 191 (2014)
• Meacham v. Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory · 554 U.S. 84 (2008)
• Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc. · 557 U.S. 167 (2009)
• Winkelman Ex Rel. Winkelman v. Parma City School District · 550 U.S. 516 (2007)
• Arlington Central School District Board of Education v. Murphy · 548 U.S. 291 (2006)
• Microsoft Corp. v. i4i Ltd. Partnership · 564 U.S. 91 (2011)
• Dixon v. United States · 548 U.S. 1 (2006)
• Forest Grove School District v. T. A. · 557 U.S. 230 (2009)
• Xiulu Ruan v. United States · 597 U.S. 450 (2022)
• Cunningham v. Cornell Univ. · 604 U.S. 693 (2025)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

Explore from here

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2005). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).