A U.S. Supreme Court ruling last week might make it tougher for some Hawai'i families who feel their child is not being given proper educational services under the federal Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (or IDEA).

The issue involves cases in which individual families feel their child is not getting an appropriate education. Several states, including Hawai'i, argued that the burden of proof in such disputes should fall on the families challenging the program. This is a basic state's rights issue, they said.

Others argued the burden of proof should fall on the school system to demonstrate that its educational offerings are indeed appropriate.

The Supreme Court agreed that the burden falls on the parents since they are "the party seeking relief."

There may be legal logic to such a decision, but it opens the door — at least potentially — to tremendous unfairness when an individual family will have to go up against the state with its deep pockets, lawyers and experts.

Hawai'i's position in this case was not that it wants to ignore parents who feel their child is being shortchanged. Rather, the position was that as a matter of legal logic, when relief is sought, the burden of proof begins with the complainant. The high court agreed.

Armed with this decision, it is now possible for the state school system to simply hunker down and, in effect, say "sue me" when parents are unhappy with the educational plan devised for their child.

We can only hope that now that Hawai'i has won its state's rights victory, it uses this legal footing judiciously. Parents must not be intimidated if they feel their child is being shortchanged.

Congress passed this law in 1975 to guarantee all children, including those with disabilities, fair and equal access to education. It took a federal lawsuit (the Felix case) and years of court supervision to get Hawai'i up to speed under this law.

This latest Supreme Court decision must not become a reason to backslide on this important responsibility.