Good Tuesday evening! The Wrightslaw Team took a break this summer to reset and recover after a tough year. We hope you can reset and recover too.

In this issue of The Special Ed Advocate, we examine questions about the . . .

    Legal right to an education and to literacy;
    How the right to an education evolved after the Supreme Court issued their unanimous decision in Brown v. Bd of Education;
    Long COVID under the IDEA, ADA and Section 504;
    A new "Long COVID Resource Guide" from the US Dept of Ed about the developmental and educational implications of long COVID for students with long COVID; and
    Breaking News! Justice Department Settles with Florida School District in Discrimination & Class Removals Case


Is There a Legal Right to an Education? To Literacy?

Pete was interviewed for over an hour recently by a reporter from an NPR station. The reporter had questions about:

    the legal right to an education and to literacy;
    recent cases about the right to an education; and
    issues influencing judicial decisions about the right to an education.


Is there a legal right to an education? To literacy? What do you think?

In a new article, “Is There a Legal Right to an Education? To Literacy?”, Pete and Pam Wright look at how the right to an education has evolved after the Supreme Court issued their unanimous decision in Brown v. Bd of Education.

In that 1954 decision, a unanimous Supreme Court held that “In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education.” Brown v. Bd of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954).

Featured Article: “Is There a Legal Right to an Education? To Literacy?”

2. Long COVID under the IDEA, the ADA, and Section 504 

Many children and young adults who planned to return to school in the fall are struggling to recover from “long COVID.”

In long COVID, debilitating health issues disrupt schooling, sleep, mood, daily and extracurricular activities. Common symptoms include headache, “brain fog”, exhaustion, dizziness, anxiety, depression, and heart palpitations. Recovery time is unclear.

Long COVID may be a disability under the IDEA, the ADA, and Section 504.

In July, the U.S. Dept of Education published "Long COVID: A Resource Guide to Support Children, Students, Educators, Schools, Service Providers, and Families."

In Long COVID Under the IDEA, ADA and Section 504, you will learn more about this perplexing condition, legal protections and services for students with long COVID, and how to download the new Long COVID Resource Guide.

3. Wrightslaw Bundle


4. Breaking News! Justice Department Settles with Florida School District in Discrimination & Class Removals Case

On August 3, 2021, the Department of Justice reached a settlement with Volusia County Schools (Florida) under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The DOJ found that the Florida district punished students with disabilities for disability-related behavior by removing them from classes. These removals were unnecessary and denied students with equal access to school programs and services.

Read Breaking News! Justice Department Settles with Florida District in Discrimination & Class Removals Case on the Wrightslaw blog.