For many children with disabilities, accessing education means navigating legal and practical barriers—and sometimes, standing up to protect their rights. Schools and parents can often work together to successfully implement accommodations to support student learning. Sometimes, however, schools and parents disagree about the appropriate supports needed for a child. In these moments, clarity of law is important for families and school districts alike.
This is why the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent unanimous decision in A. J. T. vs. Osseo Area Schools is so impactful for students with disabilities. It reaffirms students’ protections under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act—and offers much-needed clarity on how school districts should address accommodations requests. Importantly, A. J. T. provides new guidance about the standard of review school districts should follow when considering accommodations for students with disabilities in schools.
Before diving into this landmark decision, let’s look back at how far we’ve come.
Our Not-So-Distant Past: Children with Disabilities Could Be Denied Education
Just sixty years ago, before education-rights laws were enacted by Congress, children with disabilities in the United States were mostly excluded from public education. While some students with disabilities were placed in segregated classrooms with inadequate resources and support, many children were institutionalized. Students with disabilities did not have a legal right to go to school like their nondisabled peers.
It wasn’t until the 1970s that Congress passed the first in a series of groundbreaking civil rights laws to right these wrongs. The laws were written to create foundational protections/rights of individuals with disabilities, prevent discrimination, and ensure that people with disabilities gain equal access to education, employment, and public accommodations (e.g., in privately-owned businesses or organizations).
When writing these laws, lawmakers understood the key concept that disability discrimination does not always come from outright hostility. It also sometimes results from indifference, thoughtlessness, or failure to consider the needs of people living with disabilities.
The Big Three Federal Protections for Students with Disabilities
These three laws have significantly improved the lives of people with disabilities, opening doors to education and better lifelong outcomes for vulnerable youth.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504)
Passed in 1973, Section 504 was the first civil rights law in the United States to address discrimination against individuals with disabilities. It was modeled after the nondiscrimination provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (prohibiting racial discrimination) and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (prohibiting sex discrimination). Section 504 ensures that people with disabilities have access to opportunities and services comparable to people without disabilities in any program receiving federal funding—including public schools, which operate with local, state, and federal funding. See CLC’s handout about 504 Plans here.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Passed in 1975, IDEA guarantees “free and appropriate public education” (FAPE) for children with disabilities. This law requires public schools in every state to provide special education and related services to eligible students, ages 3-21, to prepare them for success in further education, employment, and independent living. Under IDEA, a student’s individualized education program (IEP) sets parameters for accommodations to support their educational success. About 7.5 million children receive services under IDEA, accounting for 15% of all students in the U.S. Most students with IEPs attend public schools, as private schools do not face the same obligation to provide FAPE. See CLC’s handouts about IEP Plans: IEP Guide and IEP/ARC Meeting Guide.
Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
The ADA is a landmark federal civils right law passed in 1990. It prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, public services, public accommodations, and telecommunications. The ADA applies to state and local government services, as well as to businesses, organizations, or facilities that are open to the general public. Title II of the ADA requires that school buildings, programs, and activities be accessible to students with disabilities—and that students receive reasonable accommodations to ensure equal access to education.
The People Impacted: Our Kids, Our Neighbors, and Our Communities
Today, over 70 million people (equivalent to 1 in 4 adults) in the United States reported having a disability. About 1 in 6 children have a developmental disability. According to the National Survey of Children’s Health, about 20% of children under 18 years old have a special health care need (SHCN), or increased risk for a chronic physical, developmental, behavioral, or emotional condition—which require specialized health and related services beyond what is typically needed. Learn more here.
Crucial Impact of the U.S. Supreme Court Decision in A. J. T. vs. Osseo Area Schools
In A. J. T. vs. Osseo Area Schools, parents of a student with a disability filed a lawsuit against their school district, arguing that the school district failed to provide reasonable accommodations for their daughter to learn. They claimed this violated Title II of the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
The school district pushed back, saying that the family could not prove the district’s “bad faith” or “gross misjudgment,” and thus, no violation occurred.
In turn, the parents argued that this was an incorrect and unreasonably-high threshold—as discriminatory outcomes against students with disabilities often not from intentional ill will or hostility, but simply from indifference or thoughtlessness. Moreover, in other disability discrimination contexts/cases (outside of educational settings), there is a different, more-appropriate threshold called “deliberate indifference.” A heightened legal standard for a students’ disability-discrimination claims, requiring proof of “bad faith” or ‘gross misjudgment” by the district, would make it incredibly difficult to enforce the rights Congress created—not only for their daughter, but from millions of students with disabilities across the nation.
The United States Supreme Court agreed: families of students with disabilities should not have to prove “bad faith” or “gross misjudgment” to win a discrimination case. Instead, the same standard used in most disability rights cases—“deliberate indifference”—applies. With this decision, it is enough to show that a school knew there was a serious risk of violating a student’s rights and did nothing.
Chief Justice Roberts wrote the opinion of the Court, stating that “(o)utside the educational services context, courts of appeals permit plaintiffs to establish violations and obtain injunctive relief under the ADA and Rehabilitation Act without proving intent to discriminate. To obtain compensatory damages, courts generally require a showing of intentional discrimination, which most circuits find satisfied by “deliberate indifference”—a standard requiring only a showing that the defendant disregarded a strong likelihood that the challenged action would violate federally protected rights.”
In a powerful statement, Chief Justice Roberts also acknowledged the real-life impact of this ruling. Students with special educational needs and their parents “face daunting challenges on a daily basis. We hold today that those challenges do not include having to satisfy a more stringent standard of proof than other plaintiffs to establish discrimination under Title II of the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.”
The Supreme Court’s decision in A. J. T. establishes a clear, uniform standard across the country—one that strengthens access to education for students with disabilities. Courts can no longer apply the harsher “gross misjudgment” standard, that has been used in several U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals over the last 40 years.
The case will now go back to the lower court to be considered under the clarified standards established by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Why This Matters
Congress writes laws to represent the will of the people, and the Supreme Court interprets these laws. Over the last 52 years, three major laws—ADA, Section 504, and IDEA—have reflected our country’s desire to protect the educational rights of youth with disabilities. The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in A. J. T. vs. Osseo Area Schools is a significant benchmark clarifying these laws and protections for families and students living with disabilities. It reminds us why laws like the ADA, Section 504, and IDEA exist in the first place—to give practical, usable tools for students to protect their right to learn.
At Children’s Law Center, we believe that every child has the right to learn and thrive in school. In fact, among CLC’s 3 Core Principles, the first is: “All children are entitled to obtain a free and appropriate public education. CLC strives to ensure access to education and promotes appropriate developmental, social, behavioral and academic supports.”
To learn more about CLC and the work we do, please visit www.childrenslawky.org.
