In a June 12, 2025 opinion in A.J.T. v. Osseo Area Schools, Independent School Dist. No. 279, the U.S. Supreme Court (Court) undid a decision by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that required students with disabilities to meet a higher legal standard compared to disability cases outside of educational setting. Specifically, the justices considered whether students face a higher bar in challenging such activity than disabled individuals do in other contexts. The Court’s opinion by Chief Justice John Roberts, joined by all the justices, firmly rejected the higher standard adopted by the lower courts.
Until now, students under the jurisdiction of the 8th Circuit and four additional appellate circuits that have the higher standard were required to show that schools acted in “bad faith or gross misjudgment” when students sought relief for discrimination relating to their education under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. In contrast, students in schools located in other appellate jurisdictions and Americans outside education settings who claim disability discrimination, and also are covered by ADA and the Rehabilitation Act, only have to show that an entity such as a school or workplace acted with “deliberate indifference.”
Thus, the Court’s decision preserves the latter, lower standard for all schools rather than requiring that students meet the higher bar to prove a district discriminated based on disability and that they are entitled to financial damages. As a result, schools in some areas will face increased financial liability for free and appropriate education violations, bringing them in line with jurisdictions in the rest of the nation.
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