WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled in favor of a student in Michigan seeking to hold his local school district accountable for allegedly failing to adequately meet his educational needs.
In the unanimous ruling, the court said Miguel Luna Perez could pursue claims under the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) against Sturgis Public School District.
The brief decision written by Justice Neil Gorsuch was on a technical issue: whether Perez was barred from bringing a claim under the ADA because he was already seeking relief under a different federal law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
Perez and his family allege that the school district failed to provide qualified aides who could adequately translate into sign language.
The school also indicated that Perez was advancing normally and was on course to graduate from high school. The family was shocked when told Perez would not receive a diploma.
The school settled Perez’s IDEA complaint, promising to provide education at the Michigan School for the Deaf.
Perez then sued under the ADA, claiming compensatory damages.
The school district claimed that lawsuit could not proceed because of the IDEA lawsuit, but the Supreme Court disagreed in Tuesday’s decision.
While lower courts had found that a provision of the IDEA prevented Perez’s ADA lawsuit, “we clarify that nothing in that provision bars his way,” Gorsuch wrote.
The case will now return to lower courts to determine if Perez can win the damages he seeks.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
