## Facts

- Dennis L. Johnson, a public high school student-athlete with total bilateral hearing loss, experienced disability-related educational delays and was two grade levels behind peers his age.
- Johnson participated in high school football and wrestling for three years and sought to compete during what would otherwise be his senior year.
- The Florida High School Activities Association, Inc. (FHSAA), a statewide regulator of interscholastic athletics for member schools, enforced an eligibility bylaw making students ineligible upon turning 19, with the rule treated as non-waivable.
- Johnson turned 19 before the start of his senior athletic season, making him ineligible under the age rule despite remaining enrolled and otherwise eligible.
- Johnson filed a verified federal complaint and sought emergency relief to prevent enforcement of the age rule against him.
- The court denied a temporary restraining order for insufficient showing of immediate irreparable injury before defendants could be heard, then held a noticed hearing on Johnson’s motion for a preliminary injunction.
- The Pinellas County School Board did not oppose Johnson’s requested relief and did not participate further.
- The record included evidence that Johnson was not a dominant athlete, was not the largest player, and wrestled in the heavyweight division against similarly situated opponents.

## Issues

1. Whether enforcing a strict, non-waivable age-eligibility rule against a student whose over-age status resulted from disability-related educational delay likely violated Title II of the ADA and § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
2. Whether allowing an individualized exception to the age rule was a reasonable modification or instead a fundamental alteration of interscholastic athletics and related safety and competitive-balance objectives.
3. Whether Johnson satisfied the four-factor standard for preliminary injunctive relief: likelihood of success on the merits, irreparable injury, balance of harms, and consistency with the public interest.

## Decision

- The court granted Johnson’s motion for a preliminary injunction.
- The court ordered FHSAA to permit Johnson to participate in interscholastic football and wrestling while the case proceeded, notwithstanding the age-eligibility rule.
- The court found Johnson had shown a substantial likelihood of success on his federal disability-discrimination claims.
- The court found irreparable harm because the loss of a season of interscholastic participation was time-limited and not fully compensable by damages.
- The court concluded the balance of harms favored Johnson because the burden of a single, individualized exception was limited compared to Johnson’s permanent loss of participation.
- The court concluded the injunction was consistent with the public interest in enforcing federal disability-rights protections and maintaining access to school programs.

## Legal Principles

- Title II of the ADA and § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act prohibit excluding a qualified individual with a disability from participation in covered programs by reason of disability.
- Covered entities may be required to make reasonable modifications to policies to avoid disability-based exclusion, unless the modification would fundamentally alter the nature of the program or defeat legitimate program requirements such as safety.
- A facially neutral eligibility rule may still trigger disability-law scrutiny when rigid application disproportionately excludes a student due to disability-related educational delay and an individualized accommodation is feasible.
- Preliminary injunctive relief requires proof of (1) substantial likelihood of success on the merits, (2) irreparable injury absent an injunction, (3) a balance of harms favoring the movant, and (4) no adverse effect on the public interest.

## Conclusion

The court preliminarily enjoined enforcement of a strict age-eligibility rule against a deaf student-athlete, holding he was likely to succeed on ADA and Rehabilitation Act claims and that a narrow, individualized exception would not fundamentally alter interscholastic athletics or undermine safety, while denial would cause irreparable loss of a unique, time-sensitive opportunity to participate.


Johnson v. Fla. High Sch. Activities Ass’n, Inc., 899 F. Supp. 579 (M.D. Fla. 1995)