NEA fact check shows Gorsuch ruled against students with disabilities in eight out of 10 cases

WASHINGTON - April 03, 2017 -

The Senate Judiciary Committee today advanced the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch, President Donald Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court. The National Education Association remains troubled by Judge Neil Gorsuch’s record on students with disabilities cases and his testimony about that record during the confirmation hearings.

The following statement can be attributed to NEA President Lily Eskelsen García:

“During questioning about his judicial record, Judge Neil Gorsuch repeatedly described his rulings as unanimous or based on precedent when they were not. Facts are facts, and we fact-checked his record. Judge Gorsuch has ruled against students with disabilities in eight out of 10 cases. In a rare case where Judge Gorsuch ruled for the student, he wrote separately that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act does not provide services to help students succeed outside of the classroom.

“Judge Gorsuch’s record has wrongly limited the rights of students with disabilities, and all sitting justices on the Supreme Court agree. Just as Judge Gorsuch was testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Supreme Court unanimously rejected his standard for an ‘appropriate education,’ which in his view is ‘merely’ more than no education at all. The bottom line is that Judge Gorsuch’s rulings have made it harder for students to get the services and learning environment that are most appropriate for them. Our students deserve better.

“The National Education Association will continue to urge our 3 million members to contact their senators to ask them to vote NO on Gorsuch’s nomination. We will continue to speak up and ask the very tough questions because our students deserve to know if their rights will be respected by someone who hopes to be a Supreme Court justice.”

Follow us on twitter at www.twitter.com/NEAMedia

Keep up with the conversation on social media at #STOPGorsuch

# # #

The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing more than 3 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers.

CONTACT: Staci Maiers, NEA Communications  202-270-5333 cell, smaiers@nea.org