School districts in New Jersey frequently push back against parents of children with disabilities, their advocates, and their lawyers seeking special education services for those children. The districts argue that, even if a child needs certain services, they need not provide those services because the costs, which come from public funds, are prohibitive.

So, the argument goes, schools should be given a pass for “doing their best,” so long as they acted in good faith. School districts routinely make this argument publicly, privately, in courtrooms, and in amicus briefs. (Unfortunately, parents’ advocates and lawyers expect to hear this argument more and more frequently during and in the aftermath of the financial crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.)