L.E. v. Cobb County School District

Students L.E., B.B., A.Z., and C.S. (collectively, the students) (plaintiffs) had respiratory disabilities. The students attended schools in the Cobb County School District (the school district) (defendant). During the 2020–21 school year, the school district implemented COVID-19 safety procedures for in-person schooling that included mandatory masking, social distancing, classroom sanitization, vaccination requirements, and strict quarantine requirements. In early 2021, the school district gave all students the option of either attending school virtually or in person for the 2021–22 school year, stating that the safety procedures would remain in place. The students chose to go in person. Before the 2021–22 school year started, the school district changed its procedures, dropping the mask and vaccination requirements and easing up the social-distancing and quarantine requirements. Concerned about the students’ safety, their parents (plaintiffs) withdrew them from in-person schooling. The students and their parents sued the school district in federal district court, alleging that the school district was violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act by refusing to provide the students with reasonable accommodations that would allow them to attend in-person schooling. The students and their parents also requested a preliminary injunction requiring that the school district implement additional safety measures so the students could attend school in person while the lawsuit was pending. The students argued that being unjustifiably isolated through virtual learning was discriminatory. The district court rejected this theory and found that the school district’s virtual-school option was likely a reasonable accommodation that provided the students with meaningful access to education. Accordingly, the district court denied the preliminary-injunction request. The students and their parents appealed.