Ibrahim Alzandani v. Hamtramck Pub. Schs.

── Ibrahim Alzandani v. Hamtramck Pub. Schs. ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Date: May 12, 2026 Category: General RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION Pursuant to Sixth Circuit I.O.P. 32.1(b) File Name: 26a0142p.06 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT ┐ IBRAHIM ALZANDANI, │ Plaintiff, │ │ Y.A., a minor by Next Friend Ibrahim Alzandani; │ W.A., a minor by Next Friend Nadhem Alnajar; A.M., │ a minor by Next Friend Abraham Muzib, > Nos. 25-1601/1602/1603 │ Plaintiffs-Appellees, │ │ v. │ │ │ HAMTRAMCK PUBLIC SCHOOLS (25-1603); MICHIGAN │ DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (25-1602); WAYNE │ COUNTY REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL SERVICE AGENCY │ (25-1601), │ Defendants-Appellants. │ ┘ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan at Detroit. No. 2:23-cv-12817—Brandy R. McMillion, District Judge. Argued: March 3, 2026 Decided and Filed: May 12, 2026 Before: SUTTON, Chief Judge; BATCHELDER and RITZ, Circuit Judges. _________________ COUNSEL ARGUED: Stephen J. van Stempvoort, MILLER JOHNSON, Detroit, Michigan, for Appellant Wayne County Regional Educational Service Agency. Kathleen A. Halloran, MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, Lansing, Michigan, for Appellant Michigan Department of Education. Robert A. Dietzel, THRUN LAW FIRM, P.C., East Lansing, Michigan, for Appellant Hamtramck Public Schools. Tarik D. Turfe, HAMMOUD, DAKHLALLAH & ASSOCIATES, PLLC, Dearborn, Michigan, for Appellees. ON BRIEF: Stephen J. van Stempvoort, Kevin T. Sutton, Brandon S. Corcoran, MILLER JOHNSON, Detroit, Michigan, for Appellant Wayne County Regional Educational Service Agency.  Nos. 25-1601/1602/1603 Alzandani et al. v. Hamtramck Pub. Schs. et al. Page 2 Kathleen A. Halloran, Ticara D. Hendley, Neil A. Giovanatti, Marissa Wiesen, MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, Lansing, Michigan, for Appellant Michigan Department of Education. Robert A. Dietzel, Kelly S. Bowman, THRUN LAW FIRM, P.C., East Lansing, Michigan, for Appellant Hamtramck Public Schools. Tarik D. Turfe, Kassem M. Dakhlallah, HAMMOUD, DAKHLALLAH & ASSOCIATES, PLLC, Dearborn, Michigan, for Appellees. Selene Almazan-Altobelli, COUNCIL OF PARENT ATTORNEYS AND ADVOCATES, INC., Towson, Maryland, for Amici Curiae. SUTTON, C.J., delivered the opinion of the court in which BATCHELDER, J., concurred and RITZ, J., concurred in the judgment. RITZ, J. (pp. 18–21), delivered a separate concurring opinion. _________________ OPINION _________________ SUTTON, Chief Judge. A group of Michigan parents alleges that a local public school district denied their children access to special-education services. The parents, as a result, filed this lawsuit under several federal laws, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, what’s come to be called the IDEA for short. The IDEA estab