A Case about Amy

The Rowley family's struggle began when Amy entered kindergarten and culminated five years later in a pivotal decision by the US Supreme Court. The Supreme Court decided that schools were required only to provide enough help for children with disabilities to pass from grade to grade.

From the time Amy entered kindergarten in Peekskill, New York, her parents, Nancy and Clifford Rowley, battled with school officials to provide their deaf daughter with a sign language interpreter in the classroom. The Rowleys' struggle culminated five years later in a pivotal decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court majority concluded that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act did not mandate equal opportunity for children with disabilities in classes with typical children. Schools were required only to provide enough help for children with disabilities to pass from grade to grade. The Court reversed the lower courts' rulings, which had granted Amy an interpreter, setting a precedent that could affect the quality of education for all individuals with disabilities. Nancy and Clifford Rowley, also deaf, struggled with officials for their own right to a communications process in which they could fully participate. R. C. Smith chronicles the Rowleys' run-ins with school boards, lawyers, teachers, expert consultants, advocates, and supporters, and their staunch determination to get through the exhaustive process of presenting the case time after time to local, state, and finally federal courts. The author also poignantly reveals his own "coming to awareness" about how the "able" see the "disabled".