K. M. v. Tustin Unified Sch. Dist., No. 11-56259 (9th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CaseIn these consolidated appeals, plaintiffs principally claimed that their school districts have an obligation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq., to provide them with a word-for-word transcription service so that they can fully understand the teacher and fellow students without undue strain and consequent stress. The court held that courts evaluating claims under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. 1400, and Title II must analyze each claim separately under the relevant statutory and regulatory framework. In these cases, the district courts legally erred in granting summary judgment by holding that plaintiff's Title II claim was foreclosed as a matter of law by the failure of her IDEA claim. Accordingly, the court reversed the grants of summary judgment on the ADA claims in both cases and on the Unruh Act, Cal. Civ. Code 51, 52, claim in K.M. v. Tustin, remanding for further proceedings in both cases.
Court Description: Americans with Disabilities Act. Reversing the district court’s grant of summary judgment in two cases, the panel held that a school district’s compliance with its obligations to a deaf or hard-of-hearing child under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act does not also necessarily establish compliance with its effective communication obligations to that child under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The plaintiffs, high schoolers with hearing disabilities who received special education services under the IDEA, alleged that their school districts had an obligation under Title II of the ADA to provide them with a word-for-word transcription service. The panel rejected the reasoning that (1) a valid IDEA individualized education program, or IEP, satisfies a regulation promulgated under § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act requiring schools to make available to children with disabilities a free appropriate public education; (2) § 504 and Title II are substantially similar statutes; (3) therefore, a valid IDEA IEP also satisfies Title II. The panel held that compliance with the IDEA does not doom all § 504 claims. In addition, there are material differences between § 504 and Title II of the ADA. According deference to the Department of Justice’s interpretation of the ADA effective communication regulation, as expressed in an amicus brief, the panel concluded that the ADA requirements regarding students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing are different than those imposed by the IDEA. The panel reversed the grants of summary judgment on the ADA claims in both cases and on a state law claim in one of the cases and remanded for further proceedings consistent with its opinion.
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