A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that public schools are not protected from federal lawsuits filed by students under the Americans with Disabilities Act, overturning a previous ruling that served to veil schools from such suits.
The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit found that the 11th Amendment, which grants broad protection to states from lawsuits filed in federal courts, cannot be used to defend claims when inadequate ADA compliance results in harm to disabled students.
The ADA, implemented in 1990, prohibits discrimination and guarantees equal opportunity for disabled persons in employment, state and local government services, public accommodations, commercial facilities and transportation.
The University works to make every acommodation disabled students need, University Ombudsman and ADA Coordinator Brad Holland said.
"I'm not concerned about being privy to lawsuit because our policy is to go ahead and take care of everything anyway," Holland said.
The University offers academic support services and accommodations through the Learning Needs and Evaluation Center, which includes note-takers and translators.
Disabled students praise the University for providing such accommodations, said Lawren Magerfield, secretary of Deaf Education and Awareness for All Students.
"I have heard that the University does a wonderful job in providing the resources for disabled services," Magerfield said. "But I do think it's necessary to look at what we're doing here just to make sure that all students have equal opportunity to achieve success."
The appeals court ruling overturned a 2001 ruling in a lawsuit against Florida International University in Miami. The case was filed by a group of hearing impaired students who claimed that the school had violated the ADA by failing to provide adequate support services, such as qualified classroom interpreters or note-takers -- policies the group claimed resulted in lower grades.
The lawsuit was dismissed by a federal judge in Miami who found that the ADA does not supercede state institutions' 11th-Amendment protection.
The group, represented by the Association for Disabled Americans, appealed the case arguing that the Congressional amendment did not have the authority to provide such protection from private suits.
Last Wednesday, three judges of the 11th Circuit who reviewed the case unanimously ruled for the plaintiffs.
In a 10-page decision, the court explained that discrimination against disabled persons in education affects their future ability to be active and responsible citizens and charged the lower federal court with deciding whether Florida International had discriminated against the students.
The court's jurisdiction means that the ruling currently is only in force in Florida, Georgia and Alabama but can be cited by attorneys making ADA claims in other states.
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