Supreme Court to hear school disability discrimination case

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: NPR

April 28, 2025 5:00 AM ET


The Supreme Court hears arguments Monday in a case testing the reach of federal laws that promise special help for children with disabilities in public schools.

Ava Tharpe is a teenage girl who suffers from serious disabilities caused by a rare form of epilepsy. She needs assistance with everyday tasks like walking and using the toilet. And she has so many seizures on average during the morning, that her public school in Kentucky arranged her schedule to be in the afternoon only, including a teacher giving her instruction at home in the early evening. But when her family moved to Minnesota for her father's job, Tharpe's new school in the Twin Cities refused to accommodate her late-day schedule. As a result, her school-time hours were reduced to 65% of what her peers received.

Tharpe and her parents sued the Osseo Area School System, claiming that it failed to live up to the requirements specified under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, and the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act. Those three federal laws mandate, in part, that schools receiving federal funds must provide reasonable accommodations for kids with disabilities. The lower courts are split on the question of what parents must prove in order to qualify for those compensatory damages.

A state administrative law judge sided with Tharpe's parents, finding that the school district's reasons for denying her a full day of instruction were "not credible." Ultimately, Tharpe's parents sued in federal court to secure her rights to a full school day of learning, and the school district provided her with comprehensive schooling. Her parents also asked for compensatory damages that are not available under the IDEA — but are available under the other the other two disability-rights laws. The lower courts are split on the question of what parents must prove in order to qualify for those compensatory damages.

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2025/04/28/nx-s1-5374373/supreme-court-minnesota-disability-discrimination

[Karadeniz]

1. Her parents should have done everything possible to stay in kentucky....

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

2. Disability-rights arguments grow heated at Supreme Court, though sweeping ruling appears unlikely

WASHINGTON (AP) — A disability-rights case at the Supreme Court grew unusually heated on Monday, including accusations of lying and references to one side's position being a potential “five-alarm fire.”

The appeal comes from a teenage girl with a rare form of epilepsy whose family says some courts have made it too hard to sue public schools that fail to make sure students get what they need to learn.

Her family appealed to the Supreme Court after lower courts blocked their discrimination case despite findings that her Minnesota school hadn’t done enough to accommodate her.

Their attorney, Roman Martinez, said the district’s position had shifted to a potential “five-alarm fire” for the disability-rights community.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/disability-rights-arguments-grow-heated-192752207.html