Will US Supreme Court 'Fry' Decision 'Lead Courts Astray'?

If Mary had a little lamb that followed her to school, what about a goldendoodle service dog named Wonder for a disabled kindergartner? In its unanimous decision on Feb. 22, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed and remanded the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit’s decision that had dismissed a federal discrimination action against the school for barring the door to Wonder the dog in Fry v. Napoleon Community School District, 580 U.S. (2017) (No. 15-497, Kagan, J., slip op. at 20).

The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) provides federal funds to states in exchange for a commitment to furnish a “free appropriate public education” (FAPE) to all children with certain physical or intellectual disabilities through an “individualized education plan” (IEP) for each child. Because parents and schools can disagree about the IEP goals and methods of accomplishment, the IDEA mandates formal administrative procedures for resolving disputes, with a parental right of judicial review. Children with disabilities also have rights against discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.