Minnesota Student With Epilepsy Wins Supreme Court Discrimination Case The u.s. supreme court, in ajt v. osseo, overturned a longstanding, problematic eighth circuit court precedent that required schoolchildren to prove “bad faith or gross misjudgment” by school officials when seeking relief for disability related discrimination. Multiple federal laws afford protections for children with disabilities in public schools. three statutory schemes are particularly relevant to this case.
Supreme Court Weighs Standard For Schools To Meet Needs Of The Disabled Something major just happened that can be game changing for families with children who receive special education services. on june 12, 2025, in a unanimous ruling, the u.s. supreme court made it easier for students with disabilities to hold schools accountable when their rights are violated. In reaching its decision resolving the split, the supreme court recognized that, outside of the educational services context, courts only require a “deliberate indifference” standard to obtain compensatory damages under the ada and the rehabilitation act for intentional discrimination. The question of whether or not our country needs a new standard for supporting special education students has now been answered by a unanimous and affirmative decision from the u.s. supreme court. The lower court ruling effectively sets a higher bar for discrimination claims in education compared to other arenas where the standard for disability claims is “deliberate indifference,” justice john roberts wrote in his unanimous opinion for the court.
Supreme Court Sides With Teenager In School Disability Discrimination The question of whether or not our country needs a new standard for supporting special education students has now been answered by a unanimous and affirmative decision from the u.s. supreme court. The lower court ruling effectively sets a higher bar for discrimination claims in education compared to other arenas where the standard for disability claims is “deliberate indifference,” justice john roberts wrote in his unanimous opinion for the court. The 2025–2026 supreme court term begins with a narrowed docket but potentially sweeping implications for k–12 education, particularly in civil rights, title ix, and first amendment jurisprudence. The court ruled that students don’t need to show that their school acted with “bad faith or gross misjudgment” to obtain relief for discrimination under the americans with disabilities act and. The supreme court unanimously ruled that in order to meet the statutory standard, school programs must aim for more than “some” academic improvement by students with special needs. Case opinion for us supreme court a. j. t., by and through her parents, a. t., et al. v. osseo area schools, independent school district no. 279, et al read the court's full decision on findlaw.
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