When Nursing Services Are Necessary for FAPE : Cedar Rapids v. Garret F. (1999)
In Cedar Rapids v. Garret F., the Supreme Court revisited the “Tatro” issue of related services. Respondent Garret F. is a friendly, creative, and intelligent young man. When Garret was four years old, his spinal column was severed in a motorcycle accident. Though paralyzed from the neck down, his mental capacities were unaffected. He is able to speak, control his motorized wheelchair through the use of a puff and suck straw, and operate a computer with a device that responds to head movements. Garret is currently a student in the Cedar Rapids Community School District (District), he attends regular classes in a typical school program, and his academic performance has been a success. Garret is, however, ventilator-dependent, and therefore requires a responsible individual nearby to attend to certain physical needs while he is in school (Wrightslaw, 2021).
Do schools that receive federal funding under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act have to pay for one-on-one nursing assistance for certain of their disabled students?
In a 7-to-2 decision, the Court held that if the services are related to keeping a disabled child in school and able to access educational opportunities available to other children, school districts that receive IDEA funds must provide these services (Wrightslaw, 2021).
Justice Stevens wrote the majority opinion: This case is about whether meaningful access to the public schools will be assured, not the level of education that a school must finance once access is attained. It is undisputed that the services at issue must be provided if Garret is to remain in school. Under the statute, our precedent, and the purposes of the IDEA, the district must fund such related services to help guarantee that students like Garret are integrated into the public school. Congress intended to open the door of public education to all qualified children and required participating states to educate handicapped children with non-handicapped children whenever possible (2021).
This case impacted IDEA greatly, in that Students with Disabilities now had legal ground regarding the responsibility of IDEA in providing these services, and thus providing more equity and access to students needing nursing services.
https://sites.ed.gov/idea/files/qa-covid-19-03-12-2020.pdf
