Employers are familiar with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) provisions that apply to disabled employees or applicants. However, other portions of the law apply similar prohibitions against discrimination by government agencies, public accommodations, and educational institutions. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rejected a lower court’s requirement that disabled students show bad faith or gross misjudgment in order to collect damages in ADA claims against public schools.
In A.J.T. v. Osseo Area Schools, a student with epilepsy and cognitive issues sued the school district, alleging failure to adjust her hours of attendance as an ADA accommodation. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the lawsuit, stating that the ADA and Rehabilitation Act require a demonstration of bad faith in addition to violation of the statute’s accommodation requirements.
The Supreme Court reversed this decision, finding no requirement in the text of either statute to support the elevated requirement noted by the appellate court. The ADA only requires demonstration of deliberate indifference to collect damages. In reaching this decision, the Supreme Court declined to provide this reasoning to other portions of the ADA affecting entities outside of education.
The bad faith test was followed by a number of appellate circuits, meaning that this decision will lower the burden for students to pursue claims against public schools. If this reasoning is eventually applied to other portions of the ADA, this could result in more lawsuits or settlements involving employers, local governments, and other entities subject to ADA antidiscrimination requirements.
