Federal Court Judge Orders DC to Provide Special Education to Students at the DC Jail
06.17.2021
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Judge Carl J. Nichols of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia entered a preliminary injunction ordering DC to provide special education to the more than 40 students who are incarcerated at the DC Jail. The District needs to comply within the next 15 days.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, for the past fifteen months, students at the DC Jail received inaccessible, inadequate, and inconsistently delivered work packets in lieu of classes taught by qualified teachers either in-person or virtually. In April 2021, two students, on behalf of themselves and a class of all other students at the Inspiring Youth Program, filed a lawsuit challenging D.C. Public Schools’ failure to provide them with education and other services that they are entitled to under federal law and asking the court to issue a preliminary injunction to ensure that students have access to their education.
Judge Nichols found that “Plaintiffs are likely to demonstrate that Defendants did not implement student IEPs ’to the greatest extent possible throughout the pandemic” because DC failed to properly plan and implement a sufficient remote educational program at the Inspiring Youth Program, and the limited education they did provide did not offer students educational benefit and because the students would suffer irreparable harm, an injunction was warranted.
The court order requires that DC provide all students at IYP “with the full hours of special education and related services mandated by their IEP through direct, teacher-or-counselor-led group classes and/or one-on-one sessions, delivered via live videoconference calls and/or in-person interactions” within 15 days.
Kaitlin Banner, Deputy Legal Director at Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights & Urban Affairs says: “This decision reaffirms that the District’s civil rights and IDEA obligations are not excused during a pandemic. The young people who are incarcerated at the DC Jail deserve an opportunity to earn their high school diplomas and have already missed out on a year of education. The preliminary injunction will ensure that D.C. Public Schools provides them the education and services that will help them achieve that goal.”
Zenia Sanchez Fuentes, attorney at Terris, Pravlik & Millian says: “We are thrilled for our brave clients who had the courage and commitment to bring this case to federal court to pursue their education. The Court has told the District of Columbia loudly and clearly that its failure to teach these students during the pandemic must cease within 15 days. We look forward to continuing to vindicate our clients’ federal rights.”
Sarah Comeau, Co-Founder and Director of Programs at SJP says: “The pandemic exacerbated many of the already-existing deprivations suffered by our clients and other students with disabilities at DC Jail. This decision reaffirms that these young people remain entitled to access special education services, regardless of incarceration, and it moves them one step closer to getting what they need to achieve their goals. Our clients care deeply about their education. They want to learn. That is all they have been asking for over the past 15 months. We are thrilled and relieved that they will soon be given that opportunity to learn again. This decision moves the District closer to educational equity for our most marginalized students, and particularly students of color."
The court’s order can be found here.
The court’s opinion can be found here.
The Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction can be found here.
The Class Action Complaint can be found here.
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