US Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Important Disability Rights Case
On January 17, 2025, the US Supreme Court agreed to hear A.J.T. v. Osseo Area Schools, a case challenging the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit’s longstanding rule requiring children with disabilities to satisfy a uniquely strict liability standard when seeking relief for discrimination related to their education.
Latham represents petitioner Ava Tharpe, a student who suffers from severe epilepsy. Because her seizures are most frequent in the mornings, Ava cannot attend school before noon. For years, Ava’s parents requested that her school district, Osseo Area Schools, provide Ava with evening instruction to ensure that her school day was the same length as that of her classmates. The district declined to provide this accommodation.
After years of frustration, Ava’s parents filed lawsuits alleging violations of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Rehabilitation Act, and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Ava prevailed in her IDEA suit, which was affirmed on appeal. But the district court granted summary judgment to Ava’s school district on her disability discrimination claims under the Rehabilitation Act and ADA because Ava had not shown her school district acted with “bad faith or gross misjudgment.” The Eighth Circuit affirmed, explaining that it was “constrained” by a 40-year-old circuit precedent requiring children with disabilities to satisfy this heightened standard, which applies to no other litigant seeking relief under the relevant statutes.
“This case presents an exceptionally important issue for children with disabilities and their families,” said Latham partner Roman Martinez, who will argue to the Supreme Court on Ava’s behalf. “Both the ADA and Rehabilitation Act provide much-needed relief for educational discrimination, which often has life-altering consequences for children with disabilities. Yet, as this case illustrates, an atextual rule being imposed in five circuits makes it far harder for them to prove their claims — for no good reason, and with real consequences. We hope to persuade the Justices to reject the Eighth Circuit’s approach and vindicate Ava’s rights and those of other children with disabilities.”
Latham has a long history of representing students with disabilities, including securing a unanimous victory at the US Supreme Court in Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools. In addition to Roman Martinez, Latham’s team includes associates Nick Rosellini, Peter Prindiville, and Graham Ambrose. They are collaborating with co-counsel Amy J. Goetz of School Law Center, LLC. The case will likely be heard in the Supreme Court’s forthcoming April 2025 sitting.