May 21, 2012
In Mowry v. Logan County Board of Education, 58 IDELR 192 (S.D. W. Va. 2012), a West Virginia high school student who was placed on a homebound program due to having Fabry's disease (a hereditary metabolic disorder) was told if he was "too sick" to attend school, he was "too sick" to attend extracurricular activities such as the senior party and the senior graduation ceremony. The student sued the school district under Section 504 and Title II of the ADA, alleging the district discriminated against him as a homebound student when it prohibited him from participating in these activities. The school district filed a motion to dismiss the suit arguing that the student did not state a claim upon which relief could be granted.
The district court judge, however, denied the motion to dismiss stating:
"Plaintiff claims he was treated differently from other students in Logan County as he was not allowed to participate in extracurricular activities. He alleges that Defendants prevented him from participating because of his 'inability to physically attend Logan County High School.' He states that he was often told 'If you're too sick to come to school, you're too sick to attend these events.' Assuming Plaintiff's allegations are true, Plaintiff's complaint sufficiently alleges that Defendants intentionally discriminated against him by treating him differently than other students."
The Judge denied the school district's motion to dismiss and the case, if not settled, may now be scheduled for trial.
The decision highlights the need for school districts to consider extracurricular activities at 504 meetings and to individually evaluate each homebound student's ability to participate in extracurricular activities. Please note that this decision involves a student who, due to having a disability, was receiving services in a homebound placement. That should not be confused with students who by parental choice are home-schooled.
