DISABILITY LAW -- INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT -- FOURTH CIRCUIT HOLDS THAT PARENTS BEAR THE BURDEN OF PROOF IN A DUE PROCESS HEARING AGAINST A SCHOOL DISTRICT. -- Weast v. Schaffer, 377 F.3d 449 (4th Cir. 2004).

Suggests that the procedural safeguards in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) which the majority of U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit justices cited in West v. Schaffer may not sufficiently protect the interests of disabled children. Claim that circuit courts are split on which party should bear the burden of proof when the family of a disabled child challenges a school district; Provision of the IDEA regarding role of school districts in designing individualized education program; Facts of the case; Opinion of the court on the remedial nature of the IDEA requiring the school district to demonstrate compliance with the law's statutory obligations.