Federal Discrimination Claims Did Not Require Administrative Exhaustion

Federal Discrimination Claims Based on Failure to Accommodate Student’s Preferred Communication Method Did Not Require Administrative Exhaustion

Federal District Court for Southern District of California case no. 3:18-cv-00321 BEN-BLM,
Order Denying San Dieguito Union High School District’s Motion to Dismiss for Failure to Exhaust Administrative Remedies

Court denied District’s motion to dismiss Student’s claims under Effective Communication section of Americans with Disabilities Act, holding that administrative exhaustion through a special education due process hearing was unnecessary because Teacher’s denial of Student’s use of letter board as communication device constituted a denial of reasonable accommodation. Court found that this denial of Student’s method of effective and independent communication could have arisen in any place of public accommodation and was not, therefore, essentially linked to Student’s educational program.

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