On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear a case that could make it difficult for students with disabilities to resolve problems quickly when they don’t receive necessary assistance in public schools.
The question for the judges involves a federal law that guarantees disabled students an education specific to their needs.
Lawyers for Miguel Luna Perez, a deaf student who attended a public school in Sturgis, Michigan, said the school system failed to provide him with a qualified sign language interpreter for more than a decade and misled his parents into thinking he was on her way to earning her high school diploma. However, just before he graduated, his family was told that he only qualified for a “certificate of completion,” not a diploma.
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His family responded by filing claims under two laws, the comprehensive Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. IDEA guarantees children with disabilities a free public education that is tailored to their specific needs.
Perez’s family and the school district eventually settled the IDEA claims. The school district agreed to pay for additional schooling and sign language instruction for Perez and his family, among other things. The family then went to federal court and, under the ADA, sought money damages, which are not available under IDEA.
The Supreme Court is set to hear a case related to a law guaranteeing educational provisions for disabled students in public schools.
(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Cenata, File)
However, the lower courts said that to sue under the ADA, Perez should not have settled.
Former federal education officials are among those who have told the court that those lower court decisions are wrong. Officials say defending them would harm children with disabilities by forcing them to choose between resolving issues immediately but giving up other claims and delaying to try to get more complete relief.
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While IDEA encourages settlements, upholding the lower court’s decision would force the students and their families to “forgo prompt relief and waste time, money and administrative resources” to preserve their other claims, they said. The Biden administration is also urging the court to side with Perez.
However, an association of national school boards and an association of school superintendents are among those who believe the lower courts were right. They say ruling otherwise would weaken IDEA’s collaborative problem-solving process and lead to longer and more expensive court proceedings.
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The case is Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools, 21-887.
