In an important victory last week in Jacobs v. Salt Lake City School District, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled in favor of the plaintiffs—two students with intellectual disabilities and the Disability Law Center— in their lawsuit challenging the manner in which the Salt Lake City School District educates and places students with intellectual disabilities. On behalf of themselves and other similarly situated students, the plaintiffs argue that by automatically placing students with intellectual disabilities in a small handful of specific schools, the school district fails to make individualized educational placement decisions and therefore violates the Individuals with Disabilities with Education Act (“IDEA”), the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

The Salt Lake City School District uses a “hub” system to consolidate educational services for students with intellectual disabilities. The Tenth Circuit explained that the school district categorizes students with intellectual disabilities “based solely on their IQs,” “does not ‘consider the individual needs of students in assigning them’” to programs, and does not meaningfully “consider whether intellectually disabled students could be placed in the ‘general education environment,’” but rather predetermines their placements. 

Previously, the United States District Court for the District of Utah had dismissed this lawsuit, finding that the plaintiffs’ claims were “limited to seeking only to attend their neighborhood schools.” The Tenth Circuit disagreed and reversed that decision, finding that the plaintiffs could continue to press their claims under the IDEA, ADA, and Section 504, and remanded the case for further proceedings before the district court.

Notably, the Tenth Circuit also found that the district court erred in dismissing the plaintiff’s 504 claim for failure to exhaust administrative remedies, noting that it would have been futile for the plaintiff students to have attempted to exhaust with respect to their 504 claims during their IDEA due process proceedings, as the hearing officers would have dismissed those claims for lack of jurisdiction.