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Cite as: 546 U. S. 49 (2005)

51

Opinion of the Court

Justice O’Connor delivered the opinion of the Court. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA or Act), 84 Stat. 175, as amended, 20 U. S. C. § 1400 et seq. (2000 ed. and Supp. V), is a Spending Clause statute that seeks to ensure that “all children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education,” § 1400(d)(1)(A) (2000 ed., Supp. V). Under IDEA, school districts must cre­ ate an “individualized education program” (IEP) for each dis­ abled child. § 1414(d). If parents believe their child’s IEP is inappropriate, they may request an “impartial due process hearing.” § 1415(f). The Act is silent, however, as to which party bears the burden of persuasion at such a hearing. We hold that the burden lies, as it typically does, on the party seeking relief. I

A

Congress ﬁrst passed IDEA as part of the Education of the Handicapped Act in 1970, 84 Stat. 175, and amended it respective States as follows: Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Lisa Madigan of Illinois, Phill Kline of Kansas, Mike Hatch of Minnesota, Brian Sandoval of Nevada, Patricia Lynch of Rhode Island, Rob McKenna of Washington, and Peggy A. Lautenschlager of Wisconsin; for The ARC of the United States et al. by Drew S. Days III, Seth M. Galanter, and Linda A. Arnsbarger; for the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advo­ cates et al. by Ankur J. Goel and M. Miller Baker; and for Various Autism Organizations by Gregory A. Castanias, Thomas F. Urban II, and Beth T. Sigall. Briefs of amici curiae urging afﬁrmance were ﬁled for the State of Hawaii et al. by Mark J. Bennett, Attorney General of Hawaii, and Girard D. Lau, Deputy Attorney General, and by the Attorneys General for their respective jurisdictions as follows: David W. Ma´rquez of Alaska, Douglas B. Moylan of Guam, and W. A. Drew Edmondson of Oklahoma; for the Council of the Great City Schools et al. by Julie Wright Halbert and Pam­ ela Harris; for the National School Boards Association by Leslie Robert Stellman, Rochelle S. Eisenberg, Lisa Y. Settles, Julie Underwood, Naomi Gittins, and Thomas Hutton; and for the Virginia School Boards Associa­ tion et al. by Joseph Thomas Tokarz II and Kathleen Shepherd Mehfoud.