Latest news with #Section504
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Supreme Court Unanimously Sides With Disabled Student in Lawsuit vs. District
In a unanimous opinion delivered by Chief Justice John Roberts, the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday sided with the family of Ava Tharpe, a teen with a rare form of epilepsy whose suburban Minneapolis district denied her request for a modified school day. The decision, A.J.T. vs. Osseo Area Schools, means K-12 students do not have to meet a higher standard of proof than others suing under the Americans with Disabilities Act. If the justices had agreed with the district's longstanding argument, children with disabilities would have had to prove their school system intentionally acted in bad faith in denying them in-school accommodations. In 'friend of the court' briefs, numerous advocacy groups had warned that holding special education students to a different — and extraordinarily strict — definition of discrimination would have made it virtually impossible for families to assert their rights. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter The court agreed, saying everyone who files suit under the ADA should have to meet the same standard of 'deliberate indifference,' or disregard for an individual's need for accommodations. 'That our decision is narrow does not diminish its import for A.J.T. and 'a great many children with disabilities and their parents,' ' Roberts wrote, citing language from a lower court decision. 'Together they face daunting challenges on a daily basis. We hold today that those challenges do not include having to satisfy a more stringent standard of proof than other plaintiffs to establish discrimination under Title II of the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.' In a concurring opinion, Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson elaborated, citing examples of discrimination that, intent notwithstanding, must still be addressed. 'Stairs may prevent a wheelchair-bound person from accessing a public space,' Sotomayor wrote. 'The lack of auxiliary aids may prevent a dead person from accessing medical treatment at a public hospital; and braille-free ballots may preclude a blind person from voting, all without animus on the part of the city planner, the hospital staff or the ballot designer.' Related 'Today's decision is a great win for Ava, and for children with disabilities facing discrimination in schools across the country,' said Roman Martinez, a lead attorney on the case. 'This outcome gets the law exactly right, and it will help protect the reasonable accommodations needed to ensure equal opportunity for all.' In a statement to The 74, a district spokesperson said the high court 'declined to decide what the particular intent standard is for such claims,' noting that 'the case will now return to the trial court for next steps consistent with the court's ruling.' In 2015, when Ava was in fourth grade, her family moved from Kentucky to Minnesota. Because her severe form of epilepsy causes frequent seizures during the morning, she had been allowed to attend school in the afternoon and early evening. Initially, the Osseo district agreed to a modified schedule, but reneged after the family moved, saying it was unwilling to provide services outside the normal school day. The state administrative law judge who heard the family's initial complaint called the district's arguments 'pretextual,' saying it was more concerned with 'the need to safeguard the ordinary end-of-the-workday departure times for its faculty and staff' than with outside evaluators' assessments of Ava's needs. As the case made its way to the Supreme Court, the district had consistently argued Ava had to prove the school system acted out of ill intent — a standard that would have applied only to K-12 students. But in the brief it submitted before oral arguments, Osseo widened its argument, saying that a showing of bad faith is required in all ADA cases, not just those involving schools. The April 28 hearing erupted in rare verbal fireworks when Justice Neil Gorsuch took exception to a statement by the district's attorney that lawyers for the U.S. Department of Justice, who sided with the family, were 'lying' when they said the district had changed its argument. Justice Amy Coney Barrett characterized the district's shift as 'a pretty big sea change,' while Jackson questioned whether the district was saying the ADA does not necessarily require accommodations for people with disabilities. In their concurring opinion, Sotomayor and Jackson noted that when they wrote the act, lawmakers addressed the question at the heart of the case head-on: 'Congress was not naïve to the insidious nature of disability discrimination when it enacted the ADA and Rehabilitation Act. It understood full well that discrimination against those with disabilities derives principally from 'apathetic attitudes rather than affirmative animus.' ' The decision comes at a time when disability protections have come under fire from the second Trump administration and a number of Republican governors. In October, motivated by new rules that said gender dysphoria could be considered a disability, 17 states sued the federal government. Gender dysphoria is the clinical term for distress caused when a person's gender does not match their sex assigned at birth. That suit, Texas vs. Kennedy, originally sought to have Section 504, the portion of the ADA that outlaws in-school discrimination, declared unconstitutional. The states have since dropped that demand from the suit but are still asking courts to overturn rules prohibiting discrimination in a wide array of public settings. Whether the states will continue to press the new, broader case in the face of Thursday's decision remains to be seen. For their part, disability advocates were quick to celebrate. The district's position was 'flatly inconsistent with the law and would have stripped millions of people with disabilities of the protections Congress put in place to prevent systemic discrimination,' said Shira Wakschlag, senior executive officer of legal advocacy and general counsel for The Arc of the United States, which submitted a brief on the issues. 'The very foundation of disability civil rights was on the line.'
Time of India
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Mark Ruffalo joins Sian Heder's 'Being Heumann' as Joseph Califano
Actor Mark Ruffalo has been cast in the upcoming Apple Original Films feature 'Being Heumann,' directed by Sian Heder , known for her Oscar-winning film 'CODA.' According to the Hollywood Reporter, Ruffalo will play the role of Joseph Califano, opposite Ruth Madeley as disability rights activist Judy Heumann. 'Being Heumann' is based on Heumann's memoir of the same name and focuses on her leadership in a 28-day sit-in at the San Francisco Federal Building in 1977. The protest aimed to enforce Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, requiring accessibility for all federal spaces. Heder co-wrote the script with Rebekah Taussig, and Apple Studios, Permut Presentations, and The Walsh Company produced the film. Judy Heumann, who passed away in 2023 at 75, will receive an executive producer credit alongside Being Heumann co-author Kristen Joiner, Diana Pokorny, and Jim Lebrecht. Heder will also produce the film through her overall deal with Apple, as per The Hollywood Reporter. Ruffalo is a four-time Oscar-nominated actor who has recently appeared in films like 'Poor Things' and 'Mickey 17.' He will next be seen in the feature 'Crime 101,' opposite Chris Hemsworth and Halle Berry. Heder's previous collaboration with Apple includes directing the film 'CODA,' which won Oscars for best picture, best supporting actor for Troy Kotsur, and best adapted screenplay for Heder's script. She also executive-produced the series 'Little America.' (ANI)
Time of India
08-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Sack Rane, he has habit of insulting doctors: Congress
Panaji: Chief minister Pramod Sawant should immediately sack health minister Vishwajit Rane for abusing and threatening the casualty medical officer at GMC, said Congress workers on Sunday. Congress also demanded that Goa Police file a police complaint against Rane for threatening, abusing, and verbally attacking a doctor on duty. 'We demand that the chief minister of Goa file a complaint under Section 504 against Rane. The health minister should be charged for issuing a threat to a duty doctor in charge. Rane should be sacked from all his ministerial posts, and he should be arrested and put in jail,' said Congress workers. 'There is also a high court judgement that says that the ministers have no jurisdiction to issue suspension orders against a doctor,' said state Congress president Amit Patkar. Patkar further said that doctors and patients have a right to privacy in hospital wards, and ministers are not authorised to click pictures or shoot videos inside medical facilities. The GPCC chief was reacting to an incident involving Rane and a duty doctor at the Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMC). 'If a patient has to visit GMC for a B12 injection, then it is a failure of govt,' Patkar said, adding that this incident reflects a larger problem of misgovernance in the health department. 'This is not the first time that Rane has done this. He illegally suspended Dr Pradeep Naik in the past as well,' he added. Describing Rane's behaviour as criminal, Patkar said that the minister has made it a habit of routinely targeting govt employees in various departments. Congress has given state govt a 72-hour deadline to act. 'We are prepared to hit the streets,' Patkar said.
New Indian Express
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Ruth Madeley to headline Being Heumann
Actor Ruth Madeley, of Don't Take My Baby fame, will play the disability activist Judy Heumann in Apple Original Films's Being Heumann, which is an adaptation of the activist's memoir. The film is directed by the Oscar-winning CODA helmer Sian Heder. Being Heumann follows Judy Heumann as she leads more than a hundred disabled people to occupy the San Francisco Federal Building for a sit-in protest in 1977, seeking the enforcement of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, enabling accessibility to federal spaces to all. Heumann was bound to a wheelchair after being affected by polio at 18 months. Subjected to discrimination since her childhood, she turned to disability rights activism after being denied enrollment in a public school. She has led several campaigns and was instrumental in the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act through her civil rights organisation Disabled in Action. She occupied leadership positions under the Clinton and Obama administrations. Having starred in The Almond and the Seahorse and the Netflix film Joy, Madeley's big break came with the 2015 BBC drama Don't Take My Baby. Madeley, known for championing disability representation in the arts, was born with spina bifida - a condition affecting the spine and spinal cord development. She'll next lead BBC's The Rapture, a five-part adaptation of Liz Jensen's bestseller.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Wake students will soon have to put phones away in class. But details aren't final
Wake County school leaders gave initial approval Tuesday to restricting student cellphone use in school but said major revisions could be made before the policy is finally adopted. The new student cellphone policy requires wireless communication devices to be silenced and put away during the school day except in a few limited circumstances. But board members said they need to resolve details about the policy, such as how to handle the confiscation of phones and how much flexibility schools should be given within the policy. 'No policy is perfect,' said school board vice chair Tyler Swanson. 'This is a policy that will have to be revised and revisited many times to get accurate feedback.' School board chair Chris Heagarty reiterated multiple times Tuesday night that there will be changes made before the second and final vote on the policy that could occur June 3. Once adopted, the new policy would go into effect for the 2025-26 school year. It's supposed to replace how schools have set their own individual phone policies. Wake's policy comes amid a major push nationwide to restrict students from using phones in class. At least 22 states have laws or policies that ban or restrict students' use of cellphones in schools statewide or recommend local districts enact their own bans or restrictive policies, according to an Education Week analysis. Both the state House and Senate have passed their own bills restricting cellphone use in school and included the language in their budget proposals. Wake would have to change the policy if the Senate bill becomes law because it requires phones to be turned off and not just silenced in class. The phone ban would be in effect during the school day in elementary and middle schools. This means phones can't be used by K-8 students unless the situation qualifies for one of the exceptions. The policy allows high schools to let students use their phones during non-instructional time. This includes during lunch, breaks and class changes in the hallway. Other exceptions include: ▪ Phones can be used during school hours if they're authorized or required in the individualized education program or Section 504 plan of a student with disabilities. ▪ Phones can be used if they're part of a student's individualized health plan developed by school nursing staff. Examples include using the phone to monitor a student's glucose levels ▪ The school is allowing teachers to authorize use of devices during class for instructional purposes. ▪ School staff may authorize brief use of a device if there is a reasonable and legitimate need to communicate with someone outside the school during the instructional day. Students must ask for permission in advance, unless they're calling 911 in an emergency. One of the areas that drew board concern Tuesday is that staff revised the policy to say that the definition of the school day might vary by school. That means one school could say phones would be banned between morning and afternoon bells while another could include the time between drop-off and pick-up of students. 'If we have 200 schools and 200 potential different policies in terms of how the policy is implemented, that's a problem,' Heagarty said. Board member Wing Ng said they need to provide one consistent policy that schools can fall back on. 'If each school can do what they want, why have a policy anyway?' Ng said. Board member Sam Hershey warned he'd vote against the policy unless changes are made to provide more consistency. The policy says that a school employee such as a teacher can confiscate a phone if it's substantially disrupting the class or if a student has repeatedly violated the policy. The policy would also allow the school to require the parent to pick up the phone in certain circumstances. The policy also says that the school will not accept any liability if a student's phone is stolen, lost or damaged, even if it's confiscated. Heagarty said they could have situations where parents tell their kids to refuse to surrender the phone. 'If the policy requires the physical taking of a phone, you invite the real potential for more conflict and more disruption,' Heagarty said. The policy says phones should be stored in a locker, backpack or bag. Students wouldn't be allowed to put their phone in their pocket. Board members said a way to potentially reduce conflict would be to require students to put their phones in a pouch or other container while in class. One idea that was mentioned was to have the teacher put the student's phone in a paper bag and staple it. This way students will know where the phone is but can't have ready access. 'We'd land on the 'Tonight Show' pretty fast,' said board member Lynn Edmonds, who said she couldn't support the paper bag idea. Edmonds said she could support requiring students to put their phones in a bag or pouch. Superintendent Robert Taylor said it could $15 to $20 per pouch so it wouldn't be cost prohibitive.
