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PARC vs Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Mills vs Board of Education
In 1971 PARC sued the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for a State law that allowed public schools to deny education to certain children. The plaintiffs argued that all children can benefit from education and training. They believed that the lack of these opportunities leads to negative consequences for the development of children. The school district argued that behavioral issues are too difficult to address and cause a burden to the faculty and other students as well as cos millions of dollars. -
Ruling
In the decision, the district court judge stated that no child eligible for a publicly supported education, could be denied such education without an equal alternative tailored to the child's needs. -
How This Legal Ruling Supports Student's With Disabilities
This ruling helped provide free and suitable education for all children regardless of their disability or impairment. Link> http://www.pilcop.org/Pennsylvania-association for-retarded citizens-parc-v-commonwealth of Pennsylvania REFERENCE:
http://rootedinrights.org -
Howard S. vs Friendship School District
Douglas S. a student in Friendship School District in Galveston Texas was discriminated aganst for having behavioral difficulties upon entering High School. The Plaintiffs argued that Douglas enjoyed reasonable success prior to entering High School. The Defendants argued that the behavior issues did not fall under specifc learning disabilities and therefore did not need to accommodate him. -
Ruling
The court found that the school district must consider more than just the narrowly defined educational needs of the child and that socialization ad mental health are legitimate goals to include in an IEP. -
How This Ruling Supports the Needs of Students With Disabilities
In this case it was determined that students with emotional and behavioral disabilities must also benefit from reasonable accomodations in the least restrictive environment. Link> https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org REFERENCE:
Martin, R. Is this where we came in? Learning Disabilities Association Newsbriefs (July/August
1995) -
Oberti vs Board of Education
Rafael Oberti a child with Down Syndrome was a student in an elementary school in New Jersey who was placed in a segregated classroom despite the fact that he was not developing the necessary social skills. The Plaintiffs believed with properly trained staff, Rafael could be integrated into a general education classroom. The school district argued that a ssegragated classroom in another district was in fact the least restrictive environment for Oberti to be successful. -
Ruling
The court found that the district had not demonstrated that Rafael could not be educated in a mainstream classroom and therefore were not providing him with the appropriate placement. -
How This Legal Ruling Supported the Needs of Students With Disabilities
The courts decision helped determine that schools must be able to justify segregating students without first attempting to make all reasonable accomodations. Link> http://www.pilcop.org/oberti-v-board-of-education REFERENCE:
www.kidstogether.org Henley, M., Ramsey, R. S., & Algozzine, R. (2009). Characteristics of and strategies for teaching students with mild disabilities. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson •This text is a Constellation™ course digital materials (CDM) title.
