Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Alexandra Anderl
EDU 210-1002
Ce Isbell
Jonathan is a disabled tenth-grade student whose parents are trying to have him attend a
school. He is mentally disabled, has spastic quadriplegia, and a seizure disorder. Due to his
disorders, Jonathan requires a nurse to give him constant care. Debbie Young is the principal of
the school with a background in special education. She denies the parents request to have their
son placed in the school because of the cost it would take to have him there. Young’s decision
could either be upheld or denied in a court of law based on a few different factors.
Debbie Young’s decision could be upheld when looking at the decisions made in two
similar court cases. In the Board of Education of Hendrick Hudson Central School District v.
Rowley, the courts decided that is only necessary that a child be given an appropriate education.
The definition of appropriate was that a child be given at least a minimum level of services, not
the absolute best. In the Rowley case, a deaf student was already given a FM hearing aid, a tutor
for an hour a day, and a speech therapist three hours a week. The parents also wanted a sign
language interpreter, but were not granted this request, so they filed. The courts decided that the
interpreter was not needed to have an appropriate education. If Jonathan does require the
constant nursing in order to have that appropriate level of education, and the school is not able to
afford such care, Young would be right in denying his acceptance into the school.
Another case is LT v Warwick School Committee. In this case, the school offered a
Children technique. The parents instead wanted them to use the Discrete Trial Training
technique, but were not granted this request so they took it to court. The courts decided, again,
that only an appropriate education was required, not what may be considered the best. Young
may be able to offer a nurse that checks up on Jonathan instead of a nurse who is constantly with
him. It is only required that a nurse be there enough for Jonathan to get the appropriate
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education. A constant care nurse may give him the best opportunities, but that is not required by
law.
On the other hand, a court may decide to deny Young’s decision and require her to accept
Jonathan into the program. An example is Irving Independent School District v. Tatro. In this
case, a child with spina bifida required Clean Intermittent Catheterizaion (CIC) in order to attend
her classes. Her CIC was considered by the Individuals With Disabilities Improvement Act
(IDEA) as a related service; meaning any service required for a child to benefit from special
education. She could not attend class without the CIC, so the courts ruled that it was a related
service. In Jonathan’s case, he would need to meet three certain criteria to have the nurse be
considered a related service such as: he must require special education under IDEA, the service
must be necessary for him to benefit from the education, and it cannot fall into a specific
p. 153).
The court case of Cedar Rapids Independent School District v Garret F, helps define was
those excluded medical services are. A quadriplegic student needed one-on-one nursing due to a
ventilator. The parents wanted the district to provide the nursing, and went to court. The courts
decided that because his nursing was required to attend school, it was a related service, not one
of the excluded services. Like this student, if Jonathan’s nurse is a related service that is required
for him to attend school, Young would not be able to deny his attendance to the school. Young
would have to provide the care that is necessary for Jonathan to have an appropriate education.
that Young’s decision would be overturned in a court of law. Jonathan’s care is required in order
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for him to attend schooling. While Rowley and Warwick give definitions of appropriate
education, they do not discuss exactly what Jonathan’s appropriate education entails. Because his
nursing is a related service, the cases of Tatro and Garrett conclude that Young would be
required to accept Jonathan into the school and provide him with the proper care he needs in
Reference Page
Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District, Westchester County v.
Cedar Rapids Community School District v. Garrett F., 526 U.S. 66 (1999).
Underwood, J., & Webb, L. (2006). School Law for Teachers: Concepts and Applications. Upper