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Portfolio Artifact #5

Jade DeLile

College of Southern Nevada

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Scenario

A principal named Debbie Young, who served as a special education teacher and an

assistant principal at a progressive, affluential school district in the South, was approached by the

parents of a severely disabled tenth-grade student named John, who has multiple disabilities that

needs constant care by a specialized nurse and profoundly mentally disabled. He’s also a spastic

quadriplegia and has a seizure disorder. Principal Young denied the parents because of the high

expense to have John in the school and the school is not the most appropriate place for John.

Pro Support

In this case, I think John’s parents has every right to pursue charges against Principal

Young and the school district for denying their son from attending their school. The case that

would support John’s side would be Timothy W. v. Rochester, New Hampshire, School District,

875 F.2d 954 (1st Cir. 1989), where the court ruled under the Individuals with Disability Act

(IDEA), that “the school boards were required to provide special-education services to any

disabled student regardless of the severity of his or her disabilities.” This would be a great

support case for John because the school denied him from attending their school due to the cost

associated with his care needs and would violate the Individuals with Disability Act that John

has every right to enforce.

The second case that would help John and his family would be P.A.R.C. v.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 334 F. Supp. 279 (E.D. PA 1972), where the court concluded

that “All mentally retarded persons are capable of benefiting from a program of education and

training… It is the Commonwealth’s obligation to place each mentally retarded child in a free,

public program of education and training appropriate to the child’s capacity” and “Placement in a

regular school is preferable to placement in a special school class is preferable to placement in

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any other type of program of education and training.” This would help John’s case because it

describes how schools are required to allow mentally retarded children attend special-education

classes on campus, due to it being beneficial for them, and would go against IDEA if the school

denied them of that.

Con Support

Principal Young and the school district have multiple court cases that would support their

rebuttal, but one of the biggest supporting cases would be Board of Education v. Rowley, 458

U.S. 176 (1982). In this case, the court ruled that the school has to make sure that the child with

disabilities makes “appropriate progress” while attending classes, and to allow them to be fully

integrated in the classroom and advance from grade-to-grade. Principal Young and the school

district could use this case in their favor because they could argue that John wouldn’t be able to

integrate within classes. Also, the extra care he needs along with having difficulties advancing

from grade-to-grade, would not being beneficial for him.

The second case that would Support Principal Young and the school district would be the

Irving Independent School District v. Tatro, where the court defined “related services” and

“medical services” that the school needs to provide for their students with disabilities. Young

and the district could argue that since John needs a specialized nurse, then the school wouldn't be

able to provide the necessary medical services that’s covered under IDEA for John. They only

can provide “related services” which do not include a lot of medical services which John would

constantly need.

Conclusion

In my opinion, I think John and his family would win the case. They have a lot of cases

that are in their favor, namely Timothy W. v. Rochester, New Hampshire, School District, 875
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F.2d 954 (1st Cir. 1989), where the courts clearly state that no school can deny disabled children

from attending school no matter the costs associated with it. Also, the Individuals with

Disabilities Act protect students with disabilities and help provide them with “Free Appropriate

Public Education,” so why would John be an exception? Lastly, although Principle Young and

the District had some support cases, those cases could be used against them. For example, in the

Board of Education v. Rowley, 458 U.S. 176 (1982) case, it could be beneficial for John and his

family because it reiterated that schools who receive federal funding are required to provide

education to the handicapped. In sum, I believe that John and his family would win the case due

to the immense amount of court cases in their favor.

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References

Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley. (2018,

September 30). Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Board_of_Education_of_the_Hendrick_Hudson_Central_S

chool_District_v._Rowley

Pennsylvania Ass'n, Retard. Child. v. Commonwealth of Pa., 334 F. Supp. 1257 (E.D. Pa.

1971). (n.d.). Retrieved from https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-

courts/FSupp/334/1257/1743299/

The Right to Education | Disability Justice. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://disabilityjustice.org/right-to-education/

Steketee, A. M. (n.d.). Timothy W. v. Rochester, New Hampshire, School District | law case.

Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Timothy-W-v-Rochester-New-

Hampshire-School-District

Umpstead, R. R. (n.d.). Irving Independent School District v. Tatro | law case. Retrieved from

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Irving-Independent-School-District-v-Tatro