Katherine Fisher
ED 519: Issues, Laws and Trends
November 16, 2010
Brief #3
A.
Title – Zobrest v. Catalina Foot Hills School District
B.
Court Reference – Supreme Court of the United States, 509 U.S. 1 (1993)
C.
Facts – James Zobrest was born deaf. He attended a public school in the Carolina
Foothills School District from kindergarten to 8 th grade. While in the district he was provided with a sign language interpreter. As Zobrest prepared to enter 9 th grade his parents decided to enroll him in a Roman Catholic High School. His parents requested that the school district still supply their son with an interpreter even though he would be attending a religious high school. The district denied their request on the basis that it would be a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment; supplying
Zobrest with an interpreter at a religious high school would cause the district to indirectly support the religious views of the school.
D.
Issue – Does providing a handicapped student with appropriate aids at a religious institution violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment?
E.
Holdings – The district court sided with the school district saying that providing
Zobrest with an interpreter at a religious high school was in fact the government financially promoting the religious through his aid. The Supreme Court held, in a 5-4 vote that it is not a violation of the Establishment Clause and required the district to provide Zobrest with an interpreter at the religious institution.
F.
Rationale – The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act does not create a financial incentive for parents to choose an institution in place of their local public school. Since there is no financial incentive, the placement of an aid is not directly connected to the state. The aid is associated directly with the student and the choice of schooling for the student is left to the parents. Quoting the cases of Mueller v Allen 463 U.S. 388 and
Witters v. Washington Department of Services for the Blind 474 U.S. 481 the benefit of aids and necessary supports are distributed neutrally to any child qualified as disabled by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act without regard to the nature of the school the child is attending.
G.
Significance – This case ensured the rights of handicapped children to attend any educational institution they wish-religious or non-religion, private or non-private- and they will be able to have the aids that they need to receive an appropriate education.