Hornstine v. Moorestown

Hornstine v. Moorestown
U.S. Federal District Court
Date decided	2003
Defendant(s)	Moorestown Township Public Schools

Hornstine v. Moorestown (full caption Hornstine v. Township of Moorestown, 263 F.Supp.2d 887) was a 2003 case in U.S. Federal District Court that considered whether grades received by a student with a disability for classes where accommodations had been made under an Individualized Education Program could be discounted in awarding valedictorian honors. Blair Hornstine, then in her final year at Moorestown High School, sued the Moorestown Township (New Jersey) Public Schools Board of Education to stop them "from retroactively applying to her a proposed policy amendment that would allow the designation of multiple valedictorians". Under the then existing school policy, Hornstine would have been the sole recipient of the honor.

Under the published school board policy for the 2002-2003 academic year, the graduating senior student with the highest seventh semester weighted grade point average (GPA) was to be named the valedictorian, and the second highest student was to be named the salutatorian. At the end of the fall 2002 semester, the seventh for her class, Hornstine had the highest weighted grade point average in the senior class, 4.689, a score 0.055 higher than the runner-up's 4.634.

In the fall of 2002, Moorestown Superintendent of Schools Paul J. Kadri was approached by "parents, students, and other community members" who complained that “students were not provided equal opportunities to earn the awards” because of accommodations granted to Hornstine. Kadri held meetings at the high school in early 2003 in which he discussed changing the school policy to allow multiple valedictorians. In April, Kadri proposed an amendment to the existing policy that read "In determining the recipients of [the awards of valedictorian and salutatorian], the Board may review the program of study, manner of instruction, and other relevant issues, and in its discretion, with the assistance of the administration, may designate multiple valedictorians and/or salutatorians to ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to compete for these awards." The proposal was to be voted on by the school board on May 12.

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