Mazir Coleman drove a school bus for the Casey County, Kentucky, Board of Education for four years. In 1978, Coleman's left leg was amputated. Coleman was fitted with an artificial leg and underwent extensive rehabilitation to relearn driving skills. When his driving skills had been sufficiently relearned over the course of four years, Coleman applied to the county board of education for a job as a school bus driver.
The county refused to accept Coleman's application. The county board said that they had no alternative but to deny Coleman a bus-driving job because a Kentucky administrative regulation required it. That regulation states in part that "No person shall drive a school bus who does not possess both of these natural bodily parts: feet, legs, hands, arms, eyes, and ears.
The driver shall have normal use of the above named body parts." Coleman brought an action under the Rehabilitation Act claiming discrimination based on his physical handicap. The county board of education denied this charge, claiming that the reason they rejected Coleman was because of the requirement of the state regulation.
May Coleman maintain an action of employment discrimination in light of the state regulation on natural body parts? What factors must be proved to establish his case? Decide.