Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools

by
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) provides federal funds to states for furnishing a “free appropriate public education” (FAPE) to children with disabilities, 20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(1)(A), and establishes administrative procedures for resolving disputes concerning the provision of a FAPE. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act also protect the rights of disabled children; under the Handicapped Children’s Protection Act of 1986, a plaintiff bringing suit under those or similar laws “seeking relief that is also available under [the IDEA]” must first exhaust IDEA administrative procedures. E. is a child with cerebral palsy; a trained service dog (Wonder) assists her with daily activities. Her school refused to allow Wonder to join E. in kindergarten, stating that the human aide provided as part of E.’s individualized education program rendered the dog superfluous. The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights found that the determination violated the ADA and Rehabilitation Act. School officials invited E. to return to school with Wonder. Her parents enrolled E. in a different school, then filed suit. The Sixth Circuit affirmed dismissal for failure to exhaust IDEA administrative procedures. The Supreme Court vacated. Exhaustion of IDEA administrative procedures is unnecessary where the gravamen of the lawsuit is something other than denial of a FAPE. The IDEA focuses on ensuring a FAPE for children with disabilities; its administrative procedures test whether a school has met that obligation. Determining the gravamen of a complaint can come from asking whether the plaintiff could have brought essentially the same claim if the alleged conduct had occurred at a public facility other than a school and whether an adult at the school could have pressed essentially the same grievance. The parents’ complaint alleged only disability-based discrimination, without any reference to the adequacy of the special education services. View "Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools" on Justia Law