ADA Violation.

Byline: Derek Hawkins

7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: P.F., a minor by A.F., his parent, et al. v. Carolyn Stanford Taylor, et al.

Case No.: 17-3266

Officials: SYKES and BARRETT, Circuit Judges, and DURKIN, District Judge.

Focus: ADA Violation

Under Wisconsin's open-enrollment program, a public-school student can apply to transfer from his resident school district to a nonresident district that has an available space for him. WIS. STAT. 118.51. The program distinguishes between "regular education and special education spaces." Id. 118.51(5)(a)1. If a student with a disability requires special services, a nonresident district may deny the student's transfer application if it lacks the services or space necessary to meet those special needs. Id. 118.51(5)(a)4.

This suit concerns a group of disabled schoolchildren whose transfer applications were denied because nonresident districts determined that they could not meet the students' special needs. The students' parents, on their children's behalf, sued the school districts and various state actors seeking injunctive, declaratory, and compensatory relief under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. 12132; section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. 794(a); and the Equal Protection Clause, U.S. CONST. amend. XIV, 1. They argued that the program unlawfully discriminates against disabled children because of their disabilities. The district judge concluded that the program did not violate federal law and entered summary...