Baltimore, Maryland (March 23, 2023): The National Federation of the Blind made the following statement on the recent unanimous decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools. The Federation had signed an amicus brief in support of the position that the Court ultimately adopted, which is that students with disabilities and their families need not exhaust administrative procedures under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) before pursuing remedies under other federal civil rights laws.

Mark A. Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: “The process of securing the right of blind students to a free, appropriate public education is usually more stressful and financially burdensome than it should be for these students and their families, and all too often it leads to incomplete and unsatisfying results. We therefore applaud the United States Supreme Court for affirming the right of disabled students to pursue remedies beyond the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act even as they continue to negotiate its extensive administrative procedures.”