This Monday the rights of parents of children with disabilities were strengthened by the Supreme Court.

In a case concerning an Oregon family, the Supreme Court ruled that the family should be reimbursed for the cost of sending their disabled child to a private school after pulling him from a public school that did not meet his needs for special education.

This decision does not mean parents can turn their backs on the public school system at the cost of the government. In order to receive reimbursement a judge must rule that the public school system has failed to provide an appropriate education for a child with a mental or physical disability.