Unanimous Supreme Court makes it easier to sue schools in disability cases [View all]
Source: NPR
The Supreme Court on Thursday, in a narrow ruling, made it easier for students with disabilities to sue to enforce their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act and other laws enacted to ensure that disabled children get appropriate schooling.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the unanimous opinion. Justices Clarence Thomas and Sonia Sotomayor wrote separate, concurring opinions — joined, respectively, by Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
At the center of Thursday's opinion was Ava Tharpe, a teenage girl who suffers from serious disabilities caused by a rare form of epilepsy. Tharpe needs assistance with everyday tasks like walking and using the toilet. And she has so many seizures, mostly during the morning hours, that her public school in Kentucky arranged her schedule to be in the afternoon only, including a teacher giving her instruction at home in the early evening.
But when Tharpe's family moved to Minnesota for her father's job, her new school in the Twin Cities refused to accommodate her late day schedule. As a result, her school class time was just 65% of what her peers received.
Read more: https://www.npr.org/2025/06/12/nx-s1-5431521/supreme-court-disability-lawsuits-schools
Another unanimous opinion.
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