March 3, 1999
Web posted at: 1:13 p.m. EST (1813 GMT)

In this story: 'Meaningful access' Cost estimates vary RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Public schools must pay for nurses to accompany some disabled students throughout their school day under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday.

In a case watched closely by school administrators and special education advocates, the justices issued a 7-2 decision requiring the Cedar Rapids Community School District in Iowa to pay the at-school nursing costs of a wheelchair-bound high school student.

"The District may have legitimate financial concerns, but our role in this dispute is to interpret existing law," Justice John Paul Stevens wrote for the court.

Garrett Frey, a sophomore, deftly maneuvers his motorized wheelchair through school corridors, but needs the assistance of a nurse to maintain his ventilator and periodically clear his air passages. He was paralyzed from the neck down in a motorcycle accident when he was 4 years old.

"Congress intended to open the door of public education to all qualified children and required participating states to educate handicapped children with non-handicapped children whenever possible," Stevens wrote.

'Meaningful access'

School officials had argued that Garrett's care was so involved and expensive that it should be considered medical treatment. The Supreme Court decision affirmed a lower court ruling that it was not.

"This case is about whether meaningful access to the public schools will be assured, not the level of education that a school must finance once access is attained," Stevens wrote for the court. "Under the statute, our precedent and the purposes of the IDEA, the district must fund such related services to help guarantee that students like Garrett are integrated into the public schools."

Justices Clarence Thomas and Anthony Kennedy dissented with the majority. The decision "blindsides unwary states with fiscal obligations that they could not have anticipated," Thomas wrote.

Cost estimates vary

Garrett's expenses throughout most of his schooling have been paid for by an insurance policy and a $1.3 million settlement with the motorcycle company involved in the accident that left him paralyzed.

Lawyers for his mother, Charlotte Frey, and attorneys for the school district have disagreed over the cost of Frey's nursing.

The school district's lawyers have estimated that cost as $30,000 to $40,000 per year in addition to the $10,000 to $12,000 now spent to provide Garret

The Freys' lawyer has said the estimates are inflated, and that a registered nurse could take over the duties of the teacher associate and cost the school district about $18,000 a year.

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