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EDUCATION 1
Caitlyn Gormley
Parents of Jonathan, a severely disabled tenth grade student, are hoping to get him
enrolled in school. Jonathan requires constant care due to him having spastic quadriplegia and a
seizure disorder. They approach Debbie Young, a high school principal. Young formerly worked
in progressive school district as a special education teacher and an assistant principal. She denied
the parent’s request because enrolling Jonathan would cause a huge expense to the school district
and also felt that school is not the best place for him.
intellectual disability. The court decided that any law preventing children between the ages of six
and twenty-one from attending school was unconstitutional. Seeing as Jonathan is school-aged,
he should not be denied the opportunity to go to school. States are required to provide free public
education to students, no matter of their disability. They are required to provide the best
Similarly, in the case of Board of Education of Hendrick Hudson Central School District
v. Rowley (1982), deaf student, Amy Rowley, was provided a hearing aid and tutor from school.
Her parents also wanted the school to provide an interpreter, but the school refused. In this case,
the court decided that schools do not have to provide the best education to students. They just
have to provide what is reasonable and necessary. For Jonathan, seeing as the school cannot
discriminate because of a disability, they have to provide what is reasonable for him to obtain an
education. They do not have to provide every little thing he needs, but they do have to provide a
reasonable amount.
SPECIAL EDUCATION 3
Department of Education of Massachusetts (1985), disabled student, Michael Panico was not
performing well at school. After meeting with school and outside officials, his parents decided to
place him into a private school that was believed to better serve his needs. The parents felt the
school district should cover the costs of the education at the private school, but the town felt
different because the parents decided to enroll him in private education rather than try the
adjusted IEP. The court decided that the Education of Handicapped Act allows for
reimbursement costs for a private education, but only if the private education is the best option
for the student. Since the school had a plan in place to take care of the student, the parent’s
choice to enroll in private school instead was not necessarily covered. Connecting to Young, her
decision to deny Jonathan’s enrollment could be justified if there really is a different school to
better take care of his needs. The parents could enroll in private education, with the costs
reimbursed, if the public school system could not meet the reasonable need for Jonathan. In this
case, since there is a better match for Jonathan, Young would not be discriminating him because
of his disabilities.
Lastly, in the case of Southeastern Community College v. Davis (1979), Francis Davis,
hearing disabled, was trying to be admitted to Southeastern Community College. The school
denied her application because of her disability. The court found that this did not violate her
rights within Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act because her disability prevented her from
being otherwise qualified. If Jonathan’s disabilities were so severe that he could not benefit from
being enrolled in public education, Young would be right to turn his family away. As she
mentions, some other place would be better to serve his needs if the school could not provide the
SPECIAL EDUCATION 4
minimum of what was necessary. If his disabilities prevented him from obtaining any kind of
benefit, then the money the school would spend to take care of his needs would not be necessary.
All in all, there are a large amount of court cases that declare that schools cannot
discriminate because of a disability. No matter the disability, schools cannot turn school-aged
children away from receiving any type of an education. As displayed in Board of Education of
Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley (1982) and Pennsylvania Association for
Retarded Children v. Common Wealth of Pennsylvania (1972), there are multiple laws in place
that require schools to provide what is reasonable and necessary for students to attend school.
They do not have to make sure the student receives the best possible education; they just have to
make sure they are obtaining the best education that fits with the student’s disability and learning
capabilities. Schools must provide IEPs and other accommodations to make sure the students are
taken care of. With all of these court cases in mind, it is evident the court will make their
References
Board of Education of Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley, 458 U.S. 175 (1982)