Roncker vs Walter (Arenda Lisane-Williams)

This court case was based around the placement with nondisabled peers. Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) To the maximum extent appropriate children with disabilities are to be educated with children who are not disabled. Removal may only occur when education is regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services can not be achieved satisfactorily.

Roncker v. Walter, 700 F.2d 1058 (6^th Cir. 1983) (cert. denied, 464 U.S. 864).

This is the first case in which a federal court interpreted the LRE provisions of the Act.   This case involved a parents’ request for a continued placement in the neighborhood school for their son with a disability.  The school district argued that the student had not succeeded at the neighborhood school and he needed the special services available at the segregated county school.  The Court of Appeals found that the question that must be addressed was whether the student “could have been provided with additional services, such as those provided at the county schools, which would have improved his performance” at the neighborhood school.  [Id. at 1063.]

The question fashioned by the Court was whether the services needed and provided in the segregated environment could be feasibly provided in a non-segregated setting.  “If they can, the placement in the segregated school would be inappropriate under the Act.” [Id.]  This “portability” doctrine is the concrete expression of the separation of special education services and the setting in which they are delivered.