Rights of students with disabilities; Provision of transportation for educational access

Ana Lucía Moreno Rivas v. Secretariat of Education of Cali

Date:  04/22/2020

Judge-Rapporteur:  Carlos Libardo Bernal Pulido

Dissent: Diana Constanza Fajardo Rivera (partial)

Facts.  The plaintiff, acting on behalf of her two daughters, 18 and 20 years old, both diagnosed with epilepsy and meningitis.  Both conditions led them to develop severe mental disability.  The mother requested the defendant institutions to provide adequate transportation and professional support, whenever they need to commute between home and school and to health institutions where they get medical treatment.

Issue:  Should access to proper transportation be guaranteed to respect the fundamental rights of people with disabilities?

Ruling and reasoning.  Yes.  The Court concludes that the provision of escorted school transportation is necessary to guarantee accessibility to the educational and health care system for persons of legal age with disabilities.  Otherwise, its non-provision would imply an unreasonable and disproportionate impact on the rights to education and human dignity of the plaintiff’s daughters. 

Consequently, the protection was GRANTED with regard to the request for school transportation.  It declared res judicata concerning the request for transportation for medical, therapeutic, and rehabilitation procedures since it was already decided by another Judge in her favor in a previous action.