Opinion ID: 172399
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Discrimination Claims Under the ADA

Text: Ellenberg also contends that eligibility for special education under the IDEA is sufficient to establish a prima facie discrimination case under the ADA as well. To establish a prima facie case under the ADA, a plaintiff must first prove he or she is a qualified individual with a disability. Gohier v. Enright, 186 F.3d 1216, 1219 (10th Cir.1999). As with the Section 504 claim, the issue here is whether Ellenberg's IDEA eligibility is sufficient to establish this prima facie element. To satisfy the ADA's definition of disability, a plaintiff must (1) have a recognized impairment, (2) identify one or more appropriate major life activities, and (3) show the impairment substantially limits one or more of those activities. Berry v. T-Mobile, 490 F.3d 1211, 1216 (10th Cir.2007) (emphases added) (citation omitted). Because the language of disability here mirrors that of Section 504, our analysis of Ellenberg's ADA claim is the same as it was for Section 504. See Miller v. Bd. of Ed. of Albuquerque Pub. Schs., 565 F.3d 1232, 1245 (10th Cir.2009) (Section 504 and the ADA involve the same substantive standards); Cummings v. Norton, 393 F.3d 1186, 1190 n. 2 (10th Cir.2005) (same). Because Ellenberg failed to offer evidence showing how her disability substantially limited a major life activity, her attempt to establish a prima facie ADA claim fails as well.