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Landmark Court Case

Diana Baziyants

Introduction to Special Education 203

Exploration of Historical Foundations In

Special Education: Landmark Court Case

Thursday, October 4, 2018

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Landmark Court Case

Oberti v. Board of Educ., 995 F.2d 1204 (3rd Cir. 1993) - this case is about children with

disabilities who authorized to get an education in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE),

which is appropriate to meet children’s needs. The court assumed that children need to be tested

twice to determine if the child has been placed in the least restrictive environment. First of all, it

has to be determined if children have no problems to get an education in regular classrooms with

specific supplementary aids and facilities to be able to achieve their academic goals. Before

making any determination, the court needed to consider numerous factors, such as: if the school

district made the right decision to accommodate children in the regular classroom setting; if the

child has all the available benefits in the regular and special education classrooms; and all the

possible negative effects and influence of the child to the other students in the classroom. If it is

necessary to place a student outside a classroom, then it has to be determined if the child will be

able to enroll with physical disabilities or learning difficulties in general school classes with

children without learning problems. Therefore, children with learning and congenital disabilities

should be mainstreamed to the maximum extent and their removal from the regular classroom

can take place only when the level of the disability can cause problems for the student’s learning

process in the classroom, and the use of supplementary aids and facilities cannot be achieved

acceptably.

The case has a history, which is based on eight-year-old disabled child Raphael’s story. He

was a child with a developmental disability, Down Syndrome. Because of Raphael’s disability

and its disruptive behavior, which prevents placement in a less restrictive environment,

defendants (The School District) determined that Raphael can get an education only in the

special education classroom located outside of the district. Raphael’s parents tried to find a
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special education program recommended by the School District but they rejected all of them. An

administrative law judge of the New Jersey decided that the place suggested by School District

was the least restrictive environment which was close to Raphael’s home.

This is the case that begins the change from the IDEA's mainstreaming methodology to the

concept of inclusion, judge-made law, which is not legislative action. Rafael Oberti was a

student with special needs who was disruptive in his general classroom placement, and the

school wanted to move him to a more restrictive placement. The court detained that inclusion,

judge-made law is a right, not a privilege. The author of the article Douvanis Gus claims that:

“Success in special schools and special classes does not lead to successful functioning in

integrated society, which is clearly one of the goals of the IDEA”.

In August of 1992 after revising all the evidence that had been presented at the administrative

proceedings, the district court determined its decision. The school district had failed the

establishment of evidence of Rafael’s education in the regular classroom setting with

supplementary aids and services. The court also decided that the school district violated the rules

of IDEA.

The improved skills can help the learning process at the regular classroom so students with

learning disabilities like Raphael can be successful, without interfering the educational process

of students who have no kind of learning disability.

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References

Oberti v. Board of Educ., 801 F. Supp. 1392 (D.N.J. 1992). (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/801/1392/1945004/

Arons, L. E. (n.d.). Landmark Cases in Special Education Law. Retrieved from

https://specialeducationlawyernj.com/special-education-law/landmark-cases-in-special-

education-law/

Frank L. Laski. United States Court of Appeals, & Third Circuit. (n.d.). Home. Retrieved from

https://openjurist.org/995/f2d/1204/oberti-oberti-v-board-of-education-of-borough-of-clementon-

school-district