Droit des enfants

The mother of an intellectually disabled girl initiated a tutela action because her daughter had been diagnosed with cognitive deficit and microcephaly, and she could not afford the recommended integrated program of therapy and special education. The Constitutional Court accepted to review the case and ordered EPS Coomeva to coordinate with local education agencies to obtain a comprehensive medical assessment of the minor, as well as to determine the medical and educational services required for her disability.

Complainant is hearing impaired and had completed the first semester in the Primary School Teacher's College at Montería, but was not able to continue on past the first year because based on the applicable law (paragraph 3, Art 9 of Decree 366/2009) established that a minimum presence of 10 students with hearing disabilities was necessary to require sign language interpreters in educational institutions.

The applicant is a body that represents over 150 member organizations that provide care for children living in the Western Cape who have severe and profound intellectual disabilities. In the Western Cape, the only available education for children who are severely and profoundly intellectually disabled occurs at "Special Care Centers" operated by non-governmental organizations. There are an insufficient number of such Special Care Centers and the children who are not able to obtain care at these centers receive no care at all.

This was a class action brought on behalf of children residing in a school district with a comparatively low property tax base - 98% of whom were Mexican-American. The plaintiffs challenged the reliance of the State of Texas on local property taxes to finance schools, which meant that students in poorer districts received only two-thirds of the amount students received in the wealthier districts.