Texas federal appeals court defines ‘fundamental’ in ADA

Recently, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals (the federal appeals court covering Texas) applied a commonsense definition of “fundamental”—a key word in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Visually impaired woman applies for job

Suzonne Kakoolaki suffers from cone dystrophy, which limits her vision to making out silhouettes but little else. By way of example, she is unable to identify faces or facial expressions. Her visual acuity is limited to reading screen text that is extremely magnified.

Kakoolaki had three virtual interviews with the Galveston Independent School District (GISD) to teach 6th grade social studies. She received a contingent job offer after the first interview. To her credit, she emailed the district after receiving the offer, telling it about her visual impairment. Specifically, she stated that her disability “has no effect at all on her ability to perform the essential duties of the job.” And she welcomed the chance to answer “any questions at all about how [her visual impairment] will impact [her] ability to” teach at GISD.

Applicant rejected

The GISD job description for the 6th grade social studies teacher position lists “Classroom Management and Organization” as a major responsibility, which includes “managing student behavior” and “taking all necessary and reasonable precautions to protect students, equipment, materials, and facilities.”