Baird v. Rose (1999)

Details:

A student who had auditioned and qualified for a show choir class and felt she was set up for failure by being forced to audition for an alto role despite being a soprano attempted suicide. She was diagnosed with severe depression. Following her diagnosis, the show choir teacher denied the student participation in the show choir class performances. The teacher claimed the student could not make up learning the performance pieces because of legitimate medical absences, and that students with depression could not be depended on to live up to their responsibilities. The student being the only student in the class facing enforcement of the teacher's absence policy sought assistance from the principal, which resulted only in more students being removed from the program and public humiliation by the teacher in front of the class. The court found that the actions of the teacher consisted of an act of illegal discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act.