Disputes involving questions of a disabled child's residency in a school district must initially be resolved by a state agency, not a federal court, a federal judge has ruled.

U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Savage of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania held in A.P. v. Lower Merion School District that the state Office of Dispute Resolution is the first stop in settling residency issues involving the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE).