Deaf student can sue for denial of education, says US Supreme Court

Robert Besser
26 Mar 2023, 08:27 GMT+10

The US Supreme Court has ruled that a deaf student in Michigan can sue his public school district, after the district failed to provide him adequate classroom instruction
Miguel Luna Perez can now sue the school system in Sturgis, Michigan, for alleged disability discrimination under a US law, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the justices ruled.
According to Perez, the school district assigned him an unqualified classroom aide who did not know sign language and then misled his parents about his academic progress

WASHINGTON D.C.: The US Supreme Court has ruled that a deaf student in Michigan can sue his public school district, after he claimed that the district failed to provide him adequate classroom instruction.

In a 9-0 ruling, authored by conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch, justices overturned a lower court's decision to dismiss the case, thus allowing student Miguel Luna Perez's lawsuit seeking monetary damages from the school system in Sturgis, Michigan, to continue.

Perez can now sue for alleged disability discrimination under a US law, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the justices ruled.

According to Perez, the school district assigned him an unqualified classroom aide who did not know sign language and then misled his parents about his academic progress. The family only learned later that he would not qualify for a high-school diploma.

The case "holds consequences, not just for Mr. Perez but for a great many children with disabilities and their parents," Gorsuch wrote.

Following the court decision, Perez's attorney Roman Martinez said, "The court's ruling vindicates the rights of students with disabilities to obtain full relief when they suffer discrimination. Miguel and his family look forward to pursuing their legal claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act."