Unanimous Supreme Court Victory for Students With Disabilities

Just ahead of its summer recess, the US Supreme Court handed a unanimous victory to a student who had been denied reasonable accommodations for her disabilities, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Rehabilitation Act. This victory makes it easier for students with disabilities and their families to prove discrimination and ultimately seek relief under federal law.  

Latham briefed and argued the case on behalf of Ava Tharpe, a teenage student who suffers from severe epilepsy. Because her seizures are most frequent in the mornings, Ava cannot attend school before noon. For years, Ava’s parents requested that her school district, Osseo Area Schools, provide Ava with evening instruction to ensure that her school day was the same length as that of her classmates. The district declined to provide this accommodation, and Ava’s family sued.  

The school district won in the lower courts, based on a longstanding Eighth Circuit rule requiring children with disabilities to satisfy a uniquely strict liability standard when seeking relief for discrimination related to their education under the ADA and Rehabilitation Act. Latham was then hired to take the case to the Supreme Court, which unanimously agreed with Latham that the Eighth Circuit’s rule was incorrect, and that children with disabilities have the same rights as all other plaintiffs under both statutes. The Court emphasized the broad significance of the opinion, not just for Ava, but for other children with disabilities.

The firm’s work in A.J.T. v. Osseo Area Schools builds on a unanimous victory Latham secured in 2023 in Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools, in which the Court expanded legal protections for children with disabilities.

The Latham team was led by partner Roman Martinez, and also included Nick Rosellini, Peter Prindiville, Uriel Hinberg, and Graham Ambrose.