Another ill-gotten mandate for Pennsylvania public schools
In Lower Merion School District v. Doe, 2007 WL 2792927 (Pa.), through some unfortunate legal reasoning, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has interpreted § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. § 794, to mean that a public school district must provide occupational services to a dual-enrolled private school student. In so doing, the court expands the dual enrollment and the Veschi decision mandates to provide public support for private schools.
In this case, the district evaluated the student, found he was not eligible for special education and related services but was eligible as a protected handicapped student under § 504 and Chapter 15 of the Pennsylvania education regulations, 22 Pa. Code Chap. 15. The district therefore offered a program of appropriate supportive services in order for the student to access his public education. Parents rejected the offer, enrolled student in a private kindergarten, and dually enrolled student in the public school under § 502 of the Pennsylvania School Code, 24 P.S. § 5-502.
The district argued that its § 504 requirement is limited to only providing equal access to its federally funded programs. Stated another way, one might say § 504 is not a mandate for a public school to intrude into a private school program and fix the private school’s “discrimination.” The Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected the district’s argument based on some significant misunderstandings.
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