White ex rel. White v. Ascension Parish School Board

Dylan White (plaintiff) was a hearing-impaired student in Ascension Parish, Louisiana. White required a cued speech transliterator to supplement his lip reading and assisted hearing. White qualified as disabled under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and received special education services from Ascension Parish Schools (Ascension) (defendant). Ascension’s system consolidated certain special education services, like cued speech transliteration, at centralized schools in the parish. The centralized schools were regular education sites, and hearing-impaired students were integrated into the regular classrooms. White was academically succeeding at one of the centralized schools that was part of his individualized education program (IEP), but during an IEP team meeting, White’s parents (plaintiffs) requested to transfer White and his transliterator to a neighborhood school closer to their family home. After lengthy discussions about the transfer, Ascension denied the request. White requested a due-process hearing, arguing that Ascension violated the IDEA by denying the transfer. The hearing officer ruled in favor of Ascension, and a three-judge appeals panel affirmed the ruling. White filed suit in a federal district court, which granted him summary judgment and an injunction to force the transfer. Ascension appealed to the Fifth Circuit.