By — Lindsay Whitehurst, Associated Press Lindsay Whitehurst, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/listen-supreme-court-hears-case-involving-rights-of-students-with-disabilities Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter LISTEN: Supreme Court hears case involving rights of students with disabilities Politics Apr 28, 2025 5:56 PM EDT WASHINGTON (AP) — A disability-rights case at the Supreme Court grew unusually heated on Monday, including accusations of lying and references to one side’s position being a potential “five-alarm fire.” Listen to the arguments in our player above. The appeal comes from a teenage girl with a rare form of epilepsy whose family says some courts have made it too hard to sue public schools that fail to make sure students get what they need to learn. Her family appealed to the Supreme Court after lower courts blocked their discrimination case despite findings that her Minnesota school hadn’t done enough to accommodate her. LISTEN: Supreme Court signals support for parents who object to LGBTQ books in public schools Their attorney, Roman Martinez, said the district’s position had shifted to a potential “five-alarm fire” for the disability-rights community. Instead of defending the lower-court decisions that set a different legal standard to sue schools, they argued that all claims over accommodations for people with disabilities should be held to the higher same standard. The school district’s lawyer, Lisa Blatt, pushed back on the idea that their arguments had changed. “They are adding words to our mouth. We never said you should have a double regime,” she said. WATCH: What’s driving a special education teacher shortage and how schools are responding At the insistence of Justice Neil Gorsuch, she withdrew the allegation that the other side had lied but held firm to the contention that disability-rights claims should be held to a higher legal standard. The justices appeared skeptical of that argument, with Justice Amy Coney Barrett calling it a “sea change” and questioning whether any lower courts had adopted a similar view. A decision in the case is expected by the end of June. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now By — Lindsay Whitehurst, Associated Press Lindsay Whitehurst, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — A disability-rights case at the Supreme Court grew unusually heated on Monday, including accusations of lying and references to one side’s position being a potential “five-alarm fire.” Listen to the arguments in our player above. The appeal comes from a teenage girl with a rare form of epilepsy whose family says some courts have made it too hard to sue public schools that fail to make sure students get what they need to learn. Her family appealed to the Supreme Court after lower courts blocked their discrimination case despite findings that her Minnesota school hadn’t done enough to accommodate her. LISTEN: Supreme Court signals support for parents who object to LGBTQ books in public schools Their attorney, Roman Martinez, said the district’s position had shifted to a potential “five-alarm fire” for the disability-rights community. Instead of defending the lower-court decisions that set a different legal standard to sue schools, they argued that all claims over accommodations for people with disabilities should be held to the higher same standard. The school district’s lawyer, Lisa Blatt, pushed back on the idea that their arguments had changed. “They are adding words to our mouth. We never said you should have a double regime,” she said. WATCH: What’s driving a special education teacher shortage and how schools are responding At the insistence of Justice Neil Gorsuch, she withdrew the allegation that the other side had lied but held firm to the contention that disability-rights claims should be held to a higher legal standard. The justices appeared skeptical of that argument, with Justice Amy Coney Barrett calling it a “sea change” and questioning whether any lower courts had adopted a similar view. A decision in the case is expected by the end of June. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now