The U.S. Supreme Court in March ruled unanimously that a deaf student may pursue his lawsuit for monetary damages against a Michigan school district that allegedly failed for years to provide him with adequate sign language assistance.
The court held that a procedural requirement under the main federal special education law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, does not bar the student’s claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
In the unanimous decision, the high court ruled that the student didn’t need to exhaust the requirements of the IDEA process before filing a lawsuit for damages under the ADA.
The decision may help parents and schools more quickly navigate the complicated requirements of laws governing special education services in the U.S., affecting 7.2 million special education students and their families. The decision is likely to make it easier for students with disabilities and their families to bypass slow-moving administrative proceedings under the IDEA when their chief claim is for damages under other federal laws such as the ADA or the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
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