Latest news with #Osseo
CBS News
13-06-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Minnesota family involved in Supreme Court ruling on school disability lawsuits speaks out
The U.S. Supreme Court this week sided with a Minnesota family in providing an even playing field for disability lawsuits against school districts. Parents Aaron and Gina Tharpe spoke with WCCO about the historic ruling. "It's just extraordinary, a 9-0 decision in today's environment by all nine justices, all siding for kids with disabilities," dad Aaron Tharpe said. "It means a lot to us, but it means a lot to every single family across the country who has a disabled child." At the heart of this is Ava Tharpe, a now 19-year-old living with a rare form of epilepsy. "She's funny, and energetic and just an overall, the sweetest person that you'd ever want to meet," mom Gina Tharpe said. Gina, Ava and Aaron Tharpe. Tharpe family The Tharpes say that when they moved into the Osseo school district 10 years ago, Osseo Area Schools agreed to disability accommodations and extended services for her learning, and then went back on that promise. "The day before school was to begin, we were told that they would not adopt the IEP as they have in Kentucky. Ava has seizures quite frequently in the morning, and so she just can't come to school before noon," Aaron Tharpe said. It began a 10-year battle fighting for their daughter's education. "We didn't start this fight. The school district took services away from our daughter, and when she was matriculating to middle school, they wanted to take further services away from her because the bell would end even earlier than in elementary school, and we just could not agree to further reductions in services," Aaron Tharpe said. Their case went through courts in Minnesota, and after setbacks, the family took it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The justices found students who bring claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act or Rehabilitation Act don't have to show "bad faith or gross misjudgment" and now follow the same standards as other disability discrimination claims. "Any family with a child who's disabled and who needs an accommodation, if the school district now refuses to provide that accommodation, the law has now changed. It's an equal playing field," Aaron Tharpe said. "I hope that this will change for other parents, other moms, single parents who can't fight this fight with a special needs child. It's just, it feels so much lighter," Gina Tharpe said. The case now goes back to the lower court in Minnesota to apply the new standard to the family's claims. Osseo Area Schools told WCCO in a written statement: Osseo Area Schools educates nearly 21,000 students, including 3,000 students with disabilities whom have the right to education from birth through age 22. The goal of our dedicated educators is to ensure that every scholar has what they need to benefit from the exceptional opportunities, support and partnerships available in the district. We're committed to the principles and the ideals expressed by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Today, the U.S. Supreme Court held that under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act, disability discrimination, "claims based on educational services should be subject to the same standards that apply in other disability discrimination contexts." The court declined to decide what the particular intent standard is for such claims. The case will now return to the trial court for next steps consistent with the court's ruling. In the days and months ahead, Osseo Area Schools will continue to diligently focus on educating all of its students and providing needed services for every scholar's learning needs.
CBS News
30-05-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
Family escapes Brooklyn Center house fire, with downed power line complicating efforts
A family of five managed to escape a house fire overnight Thursday in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, but their home was destroyed. A WCCO crew at the scene reports departments from neighboring Brooklyn Park, Osseo and Fridley were called in to assist with the fight on the 5900 block of Washburn Avenue North. The chief of the Brooklyn Park Fire Department says a downed power line kept re-igniting the fire, and power had to be cut for the whole block. There is no word yet from investigators on the fire's origin.
CBS News
13-05-2025
- CBS News
Viral TikTok "Chromebook challenge" can cause serious damage, Osseo school district warns parents
On the popular social media app TikTok, teenagers are sharing videos of school-issued Chromebooks spewing smoke. It's called the "Chromebook challenge" online, where teens jam small objects, like paper clips and pencils, into the USB port of the laptop, causing them to short-circuit and, in some cases, catch fire. "My son told me he saw it online," said Lauren Denucci, an Osseo High School mom. She is one of thousands of parents and guardians who received an email from Osseo Public Schools recently, warning of this new viral TikTok challenge. Denucci says it led to a conversation with her son. "I just reminded him that anybody who damages something that belongs to the school is going to have to pay for it, and he thought it was a pretty dumb thing for people to be doing," said Denucci. The letter from Osseo school district staff said, in part, "There have been reports of unsuccessful attempts within our district," and "Families will be held financially responsible for the full replacement cost of any damaged devices, and appropriate disciplinary action will be taken." "I think it's really good to be aware of things, said Denucci. "I think a lot of parents don't know what's going on online, so I think it's good to have the heads up and be able to have the conversation." Minnesota State Fire Marshal Daniel Krier says they are not investigating any fires related to the challenge, but he warns that the risks of it go beyond property damage. Burned electronics can also release toxins into the air. "If the battery is involved, we can get corrosive air chemicals such as acids and things that will be irritants to anyone who might have to breathe in that smoke," said Krier. Krier also warns that if these Chromebook fires spread more largely and cause damage to the school building, it can be investigated as criminal arson.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Yahoo
SCOTUS to Rule in Case That Could Upend Enforcement of Disabled Students' Rights
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments last week in a case that could prove seismic for students with disabilities who claim their schools have discriminated against them. If the family that brought the original lawsuit loses, cases filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act — the portion of the law that governs many in-school accommodations — could become extraordinarily difficult to win. A ruling in favor of Osseo Area Schools, located in suburban Minneapolis, would mean students who claim their rights were violated will have to prove their school systems acted in 'bad faith or gross misjudgment' — a higher standard than 'deliberate indifference,' which the law requires in other disability discrimination cases. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter An estimated 1.5 million public school students receive disability accommodations under the ADA, ranging from modified academic materials — such as simplifying a text or supplying curriculum via a specialized device — to making classrooms, bathrooms and other school spaces accessible to wheelchair users and others. The law governs accessibility, while disabled children's educational rights are guaranteed by a different measure, the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act. Teenager Ava Tharpe has a severe form of epilepsy that causes frequent seizures during the morning. While planning to move from Kentucky to Minnesota in 2015, when she was in fourth grade, her parents sought out a school district that would agree to start her classes at noon and extend them into the evening. After the family relocated, the district reneged, saying it was unwilling to provide services outside the normal school day. When the Supreme Court accepted the case, the district's position had consistently been that disability discrimination suits had to prove the school system acted out of ill intent. Osseo argued that the legal standard, which plaintiffs have been held to in some federal court circuits but not others, applied only to K-12 students. But in the brief it submitted before the April 28 hearing, the district widened its argument, saying that a showing of bad faith is required in all ADA cases, not just those involving schools. 'The statutes do not impose liability for nondiscriminatory, good-faith denials of requested accommodations,' the document asserts, adding that the high court 'should not subject America's 100,000 public schools and countless other state and local entities and federal-funding recipients' to the deliberate indifference standard. The hearing erupted in verbal fireworks after the district's attorney accused the lawyers representing the federal government, which has sided with the family, of 'lying' in saying that the district had shifted its argument. Justice Neil Gorsuch snapped back, and several minutes of heated debate ensued. Later in the hearing, Justice Amy Coney Barrett characterized the district's shift as 'a pretty big sea change,' according to an account posted by SCOTUS Blog, which also reported Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was 'all but incredulous' that the district argued that the ADA does not necessarily require accommodations for people with disabilities. Osseo officials declined to comment on the case, citing Tharpe's right to privacy. 'The school district educates nearly 21,000 students, including 3,000 students with disabilities who have the right to education from birth through age 22,' it said in a comment to The 74. 'We're committed to the principles and the ideals expressed by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.' The Tharpe family initially filed a complaint with state education officials under the IDEA, which guarantees disabled pupils a 'free and appropriate public education.' Noting that the girl had a right to a full school day, even if it extended into the evening, a state administrative law judge found that Ava's educational rights had been violated. When the district appealed that ruling in federal district court, the family filed a second suit under the ADA. In March 2024, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed that the family's IDEA rights had been violated. But the appellate court rejected the ADA discrimination claim, ruling the Tharpes had not proven the district acted in bad faith. The Supreme Court's eventual ruling should not impact IDEA, which governs whether children with disabilities are entitled to special education services enabling them to make adequate progress toward their goals. By contrast, the ADA requires equal access to school and an equal opportunity to learn once they are there, explains Ellen Saideman, one of the authors of a friend of the court brief submitted by the Council of Parent Advocates and Attorneys and several other disability advocacy groups. They argue that a ruling in the district's favor would unfairly subject schoolchildren to a much higher legal bar than other people who need accommodations. To illustrate the difference, she cites a 2004 ADA case, Tennessee vs. Lane, brought by someone who had to crawl up the stairs to get into a Tennessee courthouse that didn't have an elevator. Under the 'gross misjudgment' standard, there wouldn't be a claim. 'The building was built before the ADA was passed, so it wasn't built with any discriminatory intent,' says Saideman. 'Under deliberate indifference, they know a person has a disability and there are other people who have disabilities who can't go up the stairs. If they don't fix it, then there could be a claim.' One of the ADA's original drafters, former Rep. Tony Coelho of California, also submitted a brief arguing that Congress' intent was that families of disabled children have 'the same rights, no more, no less, that are provided all other groups … including the right to seek relief under Section 504 [and] the ADA.' A decision is expected in June or July, near the end of the court's current term.
