The authors analyze the Ontario Court of Appeal's decision in Eaton v Brant (County) Board of Education in the context of previous legal decisions concerning access to "mainstream" classes for mentally challenged students. They argue that before Eaton, education tribunals, human rights boards of inquiries, and courts deferred to the placement decisions taken by education officials without due regard for the equality rights of the students concerned. The authors welcome the Eaton decision as a new approach in which deference to education officials must be placed within the context of an equality rights analysis - one that shifts the burden of proof from parents and students to education officials.