Franklin Driver's Education Company Agrees to Settle Allegations It Violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by Discriminating Against a Hearing-Impaired Student

NASHVILLE – The United States has reached an agreement with Spanky’s Driving Academy, Inc., located at 120 Holiday Court, Suite 5, Franklin, Tennessee, and its owner Chris Medina (collectively, the “Academy”) to resolve allegations that the Academy violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), announced Acting United States Attorney Robert E. McGuire for the Middle District of Tennessee. The Academy is alleged to have had impermissible eligibility criteria and failed to provide an auxiliary aid or service where necessary to provide effective communication to a person with a disability.

“This settlement shows that the Department of Justice is committed to assisting those with disabilities in having equal access to services offered in our community,” said Acting United States Attorney Robert E. McGuire. “Not only is it inappropriate to stereotype members of our community who are deaf or hearing impaired, it is against federal law to discriminate against them when it comes to offering services such as drivers education classes and lessons.”

According to the settlement agreement, the Complainant is a parent of a minor child who had registered their child to attend the Academy’s series of driver’s education sessions and driving lessons starting in September 2024. The child is now deaf and was hearing impaired at the time of the incident and had (and still has) a cochlear implant in one ear and a hearing aid in the other ear. The Complainant alleged that in August and September 2024, the Academy had impermissible eligibility criteria and failed to provide an auxiliary aid or service where necessary to provide effective communication to the minor. At the time of the incident, the minor was hearing impaired and relied upon American Sign Language as their primary means of communication during high school. After the Complainant had registered their child to attend the Academy’s series of driver’s education sessions and driving lessons, the Complainant emailed Chis Medina and stated that the minor is hard of hearing and uses a sign language interpreter at school. The Complainant asked Chris Medina to assist the minor with effective communication. The Complainant ultimately provided a method for the Academy to use to allow their child to effectively communicate and participate in the classes, but Chris Medina allegedly refused to use it during class. The Complainant further alleges that Chris Medina declined to conduct the in-car driving component of the class, based on myths, fears, and stereotypes about persons with hearing impairments. As a result of not having effective communication, the Complainant alleges that that they withdrew their child from the Academy’s class.

The ADA prohibits public accommodations from discriminating against an individual on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of its goods, services, privileges, advantages, or accommodations, and requires public accommodations to take those steps and make reasonable modifications that may be necessary to ensure that no individual with a disability is excluded, denied services, segregated or otherwise treated differently than other individuals because of the absence of auxiliary aids and services, unless the public accommodation can demonstrate that taking those steps or making reasonable modifications would fundamentally alter the nature of its goods and services or would result in an undue burden. The ADA also prohibits public accommodations from discriminating against an individual on the basis of disability by imposing eligibility criteria that screen out an individual with a disability from fully and equally enjoying any goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations, unless such criteria can be shown to be necessary for the provision of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations being offered.

As part of the settlement, the Academy has agreed to not discriminate against any individual, including students, on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of the Academy’s goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations by excluding or providing unequal treatment to persons with disabilities. The Academy will provide to individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing reasonable modifications and appropriate auxiliary aids and services, where necessary, to ensure effective communication unless it can demonstrate that taking the steps would result in a fundamental alteration to the nature of its goods and services or would result in an undue burden.

The Academy also will pay the Complainant $4,000 as part of the settlement and will pay a civil penalty to the United States in the amount of $2,000 to vindicate the public interest.

Assistant United States Attorneys Kimberly Veirs and Ellen Bowden McIntyre in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee investigated the complaint and negotiated the Settlement Agreement.

The civil claims settled by this resolution are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

The ADA was passed on July 26, 1990. The Act reaffirmed our nation’s commitment to ensuring that people with disabilities have the right to live, work, and fully participate in the community alongside their fellow citizens.

More information about the ADA is available at the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA Information line at (800) 514-0301 or (800) 514-0383 (TTY) and via the ADA website at http://www.ada.gov or through contacting the U.S. Attorney’s civil rights hotline at 313-226-9151. ADA complaints may be filed by email to ada.complaint@usdoj.gov.

# # # # #