Portfolio Artifact #5

Portfolio Artifact #5
Stephanie Blair
College of Southern Nevada

Portfolio Artifact #5

2
Abstract

This essay will be about schools and their requirements for ADA. There is a scenario involving
a student and the legality of what the school is saying can and cannot be done for the student. A few
court cases will be brought up to help both sides of the case and to allow the reader the most
information possible.

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Since children have been born there are children who are also born with disabilities. For these
children sometimes the access to equal opportunities are few and far between. Many times the things
that are available to the majority of students are not a possibility or made possible for children with
disabilities. While equality should be the reality of this world, many people are not willing to go out of
their way to provide these things for those children due to extra costs, personnel, or equipment. In the
case of Jonathan this inequality is very evident as he was denied entry into a school due to being
disabled.
While IDEA, Individuals with disabilities education improvement act, states that children with
disabilities have the right to free and appropriate education that meets their needs. The case of Board of
Education v. Rowley does support that the schools need to provide education to the students as long as
the services provide them education but does not need to be an excess. For Jonathan this does mean
that he should have access to an education that while it does not have to be an equal education, does
need to be some kind of education and services that will help him succeed in life. The nice thing about
IDEA is that it does not discriminate due to disability or impairment that the student has.
At the same time the school district does need to provide at least some kind of education to
students. In the case of LT vs. Warwick School Committee the courts truly showed that students need to
have access to equal education and that it is not required for the services to be identical to those
provided to regular students. The school that Jonathan is trying to get into needs to provide him with at
least some services, even though they do not need to be excessively accommodating, just needs to be
enough to provide what the student needs. For Jonathan, he needs supervision and the school can not
say that he is not entitled to it and that they will not provide it but they do have the right to determine
how much he needs and what they can provide.
For the case of the school district, they are required to do the three part test to determine if they
are required to provide these services. If the school district does not pass the requirements then they

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would have the right to turn Jonathan away. This is thanks to the court cases of Irving Independent
School District v. Tatro. In this case the courts determined that schools do not have to provide expanded
services if the school does not meet all the requirements of tests. For Jonathan, he may have been
denied entry into the school due to the school not passing the testing for requiring those extra services.
In the case of Cedar Rapids Independent School District v. Garrett F. it was a case for
quadriplegic students, like Jonathan. It shows that some nursing services are required for schools to
provide but others are required while some were considered medical services. The services that
Jonathan needs could be determined related services and in that case the school district would be
required to pay for them. If they determine that the expansive expenses are considered medical then
they will not be required and Jonathans parents will either have to pay for the expense themselves or
find another district that will have to pay for them.
For Jonathan it might be best for his parents to file an appeal and try to get the school to have to
pay for the expenses that will allow their son into the district. Another option would be to find school
that will provide the care that he needs to get through school. It is unfortunate that students with
disabilities and their parents must go through so much work to get an education but schools do not
always have the money to be able to afford the extra amenities necessary for all students to receive an
education.

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References

Underwood, J., & Webb, L. (2006). School law for teachers: Concepts and applications. Upper Saddle
River, N.J.: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall.