Supreme Court Rules Deaf Michigan Student Can Sue School for Damages

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday that a deaf former student can pursue monetary damages against a Michigan school district that allegedly failed to provide an adequate education. Nine-year-old Miguel Perez, the plaintiff, left Mexico with his family and enrolled at Sturgis Public School District in 2004. Perez was assigned to a classroom aide and was never given a sign language interpreter - only aides who were either unqualified or absent. For 12 years, Sturgis allegedly awarded Perez inflated grades and advanced him from grade to grade despite his actual progress, until just months before his anticipated graduation in 2016 when Perez’s parents were informed he was only eligible to earn a certificate of completion rather than a diploma.