504 eligibility case regarding ameliorative effects of medication

CENTENNIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT v. L. (E.D.Pa. 3-26-2010): The hearing officer determined that a child with ADHD was eligible for services under §504. The District Court remanded to the hearing officer to consider “the mitigating effect of Matthew's ADHD medication.” This decision appears to be blatantly wrong. In support of its decision, the Court cites to Sutton v. United Air Lines, Inc., 527 U.S. 471, 475, 482 (1999), superseded by statute, ADA Amendments Act of 2008, Pub.L. No. 110-325, 122 Stat. 3553 (2008) and Toyota Motor Mfg., Ky., Inc. v. Williams, 534 U.S. 184, 198 (2002). The erroneous reasoning in these cases was expressly addressed by Congress in recent amendments to the ADA (ADA Amendments Act of 2008, Pub.L. No. 110-325, 122 Stat. 3553 (2008)). The Court ignored the amendments, the most pertinent of which states that “the determination of whether an impairment substantially limits a major life activity shall be made without regard to the ameliorative effects of mitigating measures such as medication.”