## Facts

- Gene H. Arline was an elementary school teacher employed by the School Board of Nassau County, Florida, in a program receiving federal financial assistance.
- Arline had been hospitalized for tuberculosis in 1957; the illness later went into remission for roughly twenty years.
- Arline suffered relapses of tuberculosis in 1977, March 1978, and November 1978.
- Following the latter two relapses, the school board suspended her with pay for the remainder of the school year.
- After a hearing at the end of the 1978–1979 school year, the board discharged Arline due to the “continued recurrence of tuberculosis.”
- The board acknowledged it dismissed her not for misconduct, but due to concern about contagiousness in the classroom.
- Arline pursued state administrative relief without success and then sued in federal court under § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
- The district court ruled that contagious diseases were not covered by § 504’s definition of “handicapped individual,” and alternatively held that Arline was not qualified to teach.
- The Eleventh Circuit reversed on coverage and remanded for an “otherwise qualified” determination; the Supreme Court granted review.

## Issues

1. Whether a person with tuberculosis, a contagious disease, can be a “handicapped individual” under § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
2. What standard governs whether such an individual is “otherwise qualified” for employment when the illness may pose risks to others.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court affirmed in part and remanded in a 7–2 decision (Brennan, J.).
- The Court held that a person with tuberculosis may be a “handicapped individual” within § 504.
- The Court concluded Arline fell within the statute at least because she had a “record of” an impairment based on her tuberculosis hospitalization and history.
- The Court rejected a categorical exclusion of contagious diseases from § 504 coverage.
- The Court remanded for fact-finding on whether Arline was “otherwise qualified” to teach, requiring an individualized assessment grounded in objective medical evidence.
- Rehnquist, C.J., joined by Scalia, J., dissented on the ground that Congress did not clearly intend § 504 to cover contagious diseases.

## Legal Principles

- § 504 protects “otherwise qualified” individuals from exclusion or termination solely by reason of a covered impairment in federally funded programs.
- A contagious disease may qualify as a covered impairment; the contagious character does not remove the condition from statutory coverage.
- Coverage extends not only to those with a current impairment, but also to persons with a “record of” such an impairment and persons “regarded as” impaired.
- Whether an individual with a contagious disease is “otherwise qualified” requires an individualized, medically based inquiry, including:
  - the nature of the risk (mode of transmission),
  - the duration of the risk (period of infectiousness),
  - the severity of the risk (magnitude of potential harm), and
  - the probability of transmission and resulting harm.
- Health and safety concerns may be considered, but decisions must rest on reasonable medical judgments rather than generalized fear or stereotypes.

## Conclusion

The Court held that tuberculosis can be a covered disability under § 504 and that employment actions based on contagion must be justified through an individualized, objective medical assessment of risk and the employee’s ability to perform the job, with the case remanded to determine whether Arline was otherwise qualified to teach.


Sch. Bd. of Nassau Cnty. v. Arline, 480 U.S. 273 (1987)