The Supreme Court Ruling That Changed the Rules for Special Education Families

On June 12, 2025, the United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous 9-0 decision in A.J.T. v. Osseo Area Schools — one of the most significant special education rulings in nearly a decade. If your child has an IEP or 504 Plan, this decision directly affects your rights.

Here is what happened, what it means, and how it changes what you can do when a school fails to accommodate your child.

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The Case: What Happened to Ava

Ava is a student in the Osseo Area School District in Minnesota. She has a rare and severe form of epilepsy that significantly affects her ability to function in the morning. Her parents asked the school to provide her instruction in the evening hours, when she is able to learn — a reasonable accommodation given her documented medical condition.

The school declined. Instead, the district revised Ava's IEP to limit her to just three hours of instruction per day — less than half of what her non-disabled peers received.

Ava's parents sued the school district under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, arguing that the school's refusal to accommodate her disability was discrimination.

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The Legal Problem This Case Fixed

Here is where it gets technical — but it matters.

Before this ruling, students in certain federal court circuits who sued schools for disability discrimination had to meet an unusually high legal standard. They had to prove that the school acted with "bad faith or gross misjudgment" — a standard that exists nowhere else in disability discrimination law and that made it extremely difficult for families to hold schools accountable.

Under this standard, a school could fail a student with a disability in ways that would clearly constitute discrimination in any other setting — and avoid accountability simply because the failure was not intentional or extreme enough to meet that elevated threshold.

The Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision authored by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, rejected this double standard entirely.

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What the Court Decided

The Court held that students with disabilities suing schools under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act are entitled to the same legal standard that applies in every other context covered by federal antidiscrimination law.

Schools can now be held liable for disability discrimination when they know about a student's needs and fail to respond appropriately — even if the failure was not intentional or malicious.

The "bad faith or gross misjudgment" standard, which had protected schools in several circuits for decades, is gone.

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What This Means for Families

It is easier to hold schools accountable. Under the old standard, families faced an extremely difficult burden of proving that a school acted with bad faith. Most cases were dismissed before ever going to trial. Under the new standard, families who can show that a school knew about their child's needs and failed to respond adequately have a legitimate path to legal relief.

Section 504 and ADA protections are now more meaningful in school settings. The ruling applies specifically to claims under Section 504 and the ADA — the two federal laws that protect students with disabilities from discrimination in schools. IDEA (the special education law) has its own framework, but many families also have Section 504 and ADA-based claims. Those claims are now significantly stronger.

Schools have more reason to take accommodation requests seriously. When the legal threshold for discrimination was extremely high, schools had limited legal incentive to respond carefully to accommodation requests they disagreed with. A lower standard means schools face greater legal exposure when they disregard documented needs — which should, over time, shift how those requests are handled.

This does not mean every disagreement becomes a lawsuit. The ruling lowers the legal standard — it does not create a guarantee of winning any particular case. Families still need to document their child's needs, communicate concerns in writing, and exhaust the IEP process before pursuing litigation. The ruling makes litigation a more viable last resort; it does not change the importance of strong advocacy through the IEP process first.

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How to Apply This to Your Situation

The most important thing you can do is document everything. The new legal standard requires showing that the school knew about your child's needs and failed to respond appropriately. That means:

• Put every accommodation request in writing
• Keep copies of every email, letter, and IEP document
• Document when the school denies or ignores a request — and ask for the denial in writing
• Submit a parent concern statement before every IEP meeting where you anticipate disagreement

If your child's school has failed to provide documented accommodations, denied a reasonable request without adequate justification, or provided significantly less service than non-disabled peers receive, the A.J.T. ruling means your legal options are meaningfully stronger than they were before June 2025.

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If You Believe Your Child's Rights Have Been Violated

Start by documenting and escalating through the IEP process — requesting meetings, putting concerns in writing, and filing a state complaint if needed. If the situation is not resolved through those channels, consult a special education attorney about whether a Section 504 or ADA claim is appropriate given the new standard.

Your state's Parent Training and Information Center (PTI) provides free advocacy support and can help you understand your options. Find yours at parentcenterhub.org.

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Know Your Rights — and Use Them

The A.J.T. ruling is a significant shift in the legal landscape for special education families. It does not solve every problem, but it does remove a barrier that had made it very difficult for families to seek accountability when schools failed students with disabilities.

The IEP Template & Guide Pack gives you the documentation tools to build the paper trail that matters — before, during, and after every IEP meeting.

The School Appeal Letter Templates include formally written requests and responses for every situation where you need to put a school's failure on the record in writing.

The law is on your side. Use it.

See all resources at Special Clarity →

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The information in this post is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. If you believe your child's rights have been violated, consult a qualified special education attorney or contact your state's Parent Training and Information Center (PTI).