Portfolio 5

Elizabeth Moore

College of Southern Nevada

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Portfolio 5

A high school principal, Debbie Young, denied the request of a student named Jonathan,

who is severely disabled, from attending her school due to the expenses he would add to

Young’s high school. Young also denied the parent’s request because she felt that her school was

not the right placement for Jonathan. Young was once a special education teacher and was also

an assistant principal. The disabled student, who was a tenth-grader, has multiple disabilities:

mentally disabled, spastic quadriplegia, and seizure disorder that requires constant care by a

trained nurse.

Beth B. v. Clay is about parents strongly disagreeing with the schools proposal to move

their daughter Beth from a fully inclusive classroom to a self contained special education class.

There is no argument that Beth has a mental disability. The disagreement between the parents

and the school regarding her placement caused the parents to take this case to the court. The

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) provides a free, appropriate public education

in the least restrictive environment. The court sided with the school due to the parent’s failure to

object within 30 days of the placement suggestion. This can be a pro for Young because there

can be reason to place students in a different classroom or even different schools to benefit the

student.

Mills v. Board of Education of the District of Columbia is about seven students and other

students in similar situations that live in the District of Columbia. Students with disabilities, such

as behavioral problems, mental disabilities, ect., have been denied or excluded from school and

school activities. Being excluded from school had denied these students an education. The
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parents filed suit with the District of Columbia, stating the school board was failing to provide

the students with a public school education by rejecting their children because of their

disabilities. The court sided with the parents because the law states that every student has a right

to free public school education. The court also noted that if a school did not have enough funds

to provide all the needs, that the board needs to do its best to adjust the budget to ensure a child

will have an education and will not be denied. This can be a pro for Jonathan’s parents for a

fighting case example of how Jonathan cannot be denied from Young’s school.

Pennsylvania Association of Retarded Citizens vs Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is

about the PARC (Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children), which filed suit against

Pennsylvania over a state law that allowed public schools denying their children an education

because of their disabilities. The state law also allowed public schools to deny children that did

not have a “mental age of 5 years.” The court sided with PARC and declared that all children

ages 6-21 have a right to public education. This is a con for Young, because she seems to be

denying Jonathan from attending her school based off how severe his disability is.

Board of Education vs Rowley is about a child with a hearing disability that only had

minimal hearing. The student was helped by school authorities who provided her with a special

hearing aid to use in classroom. The student’s IEP required additional instruction from tutors.

However, the student was not performing as well academically and the parents requested a

sign-language interpreter in all her classes. The school denied the parents’ request, the parents

filed suit. The court sided with the parents, stating that she was not receiving a full opportunity to

learn that is provided to other children. This can be a con for Jonathan, because Young seems to
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be denying him based off is disability. Young also stated she was denying him because she felt

her school might not be a good fit for Jonathan.

I wish there was more information on why Debbie Young denied Jonathan because she

felt her school was not right placement. Maybe, Debbie Young had legitimate reasons as to why

her school was not a right place for Jonathan. Based on the facts that were presented, the court

will side with Jonathan, because it seems Young is denying him on the count of insufficient

funds. Mills v. Board of Education of the District of Columbia court case states that if a school

did not have enough funds to provide all the needs, that the board needs to do its best to adjust

the budget to ensure a child will have an education and will not be denied. Young needs to make

adjustments to welcome Jonathan and not deny him the educational rights he deserves.
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References

Beth B. v. Clay, 126 F.Supp.2d 532 2000​ ​Justia US Law. ​Website and book School Law for
Teachers Accessed Feb, 22 2018
https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/126/532/2504866/

MILLS V. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA​ Education Law.

Website and book School Law for Teachers Accessed Feb, 22 2018
http://usedulaw.com/438-mills-v-board-of-education-of-the-district-of-columbia.html

Pennsylvania Association of Retarded Citizens vs Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ​Rooted in

Rights ​Website and book School Law for Teachers Accessed Feb, 22 2018
http://www.rootedinrights.org/15321-revision-v1/

Board of Education vs Rowley​ Justia US Law. ​Website and book School Law for Teachers
Accessed Feb, 22 2018 ​https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/458/176/