2nd Circuit upholds finding of liability against school district in ADA case

CELESTE v. E. MEADOW UNION FREE SCHOOL(2nd Cir. April 21, 2010): The student plaintiff in this ADA case had cerebral palsy. Architectural barriers in the school forced him to take a ten minute detour each way in order to reach and return from the athletic fields behind the school. Not only did this total twenty minute detour detract from the student’s participation as a manager of the football team, but it cut almost in half his time to participate in a typical forty-five minute physical education class.The 2nd Circuit affirmed the district court's determination of liability for denial of access to school programs conducted on the athletic fields, but vacated the award of damages and remanded to the district court for a new trial with respect to damages arising out of the denial of access to programs conducted on the athletic fields, as well as from the construction of a bus depot, and for a new trial on liability and damages, if any, arising from the construction of a sidewalk.