October 10, 2014

Special Education
College of Southern Nevada
Educational Law Artifact #4

Christine Smith

SPECIAL EDUCATION

Debbie Young is a seasoned high school principal. She served as a special education teacher
and an assistant principal in a progressive, affluent school district in the South. She is
approached by the parents of a severely disabled tenth-grade student, Jonathan, who has
multiple disabilities requiring constant care by a specially trained nurse. He is profoundly
mentally disabled, has spastic quadriplegia, and has a seizure disorder. Young refuses the
parents request due to extraordinary expense and a view that the school is not the
most appropriate placement for Jonathan.

Unfortunately it is not clearly stated what the parents are requesting, and therefore it is
unclear too of what it is that Ms. Youngs is refusing to do. Assuming it is the refusal of
enrollment for the school, this is clearly a case of discrimination [based on Jonathans
disabilities], and violating Johnathans right to a free and appropriate education. A better
approach [to the matter of enrollment] may have been a discussion of alternative educational
options such as online schooling or home instruction.
Given the fact that Ms. Young has been a special education teacher, assistant principal,
and now a principal, one would assume that she is fully versed in the students rights as set forth
in two keys pieces of legislation from the 1970s that guarantee any individual with a disability
the right to a free appropriate public education; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1975. Section 504 stipulates that
otherwise qualified individuals shall not be excluded from participating in, be denied the benefit

SPECIAL EDUCATION

of, or be subjected to discrimination by recipient programs or activities, if that treatment is due to

their disabilities (1). Within The Rehabilitation Act defines an individual with a disability as one
who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life
activities, has a record of impairment, or is regarded as having an impairment (1) The
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which initially began as Part B of the Education of
the Handicapped Act, states that if the state receives federal funding, they are required to
accommodate students who have intellectual disabilities, are hard of hearing, deaf, speech or
language impaired, visually impaired, blind, or emotionally disturbed. They may also be
orthopedically impaired, be autistic or learning disabled, suffer from a traumatic brain injury, or
be otherwise health impaired (2). Despite the severity of Johnathans physical and mental
limitations, the aforementioned federal laws do not permit Ms. Young to make the determination
that the cost of accommodating Johnathans [educational] needs is too great. Based on these two
federal laws, I believe the courts would find that Ms. Young did indeed discriminate against
Johnathan based on his disabilities.
In addition to the court finding that the act of discrimination against Johnathan occurred
based on Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act, the court, applying rational basis scrutiny, could also find that Johnathans Fourteenth
Amendment rights were violated under the Equal Protection Clause, which states that no state

SPECIAL EDUCATION

shall deny any person within its jurisdiction equal protection of the laws. This applies to
subdivisions of states, including school districts (3) Based on the protections afforded to
Johnathan by these three laws; the Rehabilitation Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act, and the Fourteenth Amendment, he will be assured his right to a free and appropriate public
education.

SPECIAL EDUCATION

References
(1) Cambron-McCabe, N.H., McCarthy, M.M., Eckes, S.E. (2014) Legal Rights of
Teachers And Students, Third Edition. (p.144); Pearson Education, New Jersey.
(2) Cambron-McCabe, N.H., McCarthy, M.M., Eckes, S.E. (2014) Legal Rights of
Teachers And Students, Third Edition. (p.147); Pearson Education, New Jersey.
(3) Cambron-McCabe, N.H., McCarthy, M.M., Eckes, S.E. (2014) Legal Rights of
Teachers And Students, Third Edition. (p.119); Pearson Education, New Jersey.