Washington, D.C., is failing to provide students with disabilities in prisons with access to education as allowed by law, according to a new class action lawsuit.
Washington, D.C., is failing to provide students with disabilities in prisons with access to education as permitted by law, according to a new class action lawsuit.
The lawsuit, brought by two students with disabilities on behalf of themselves and other affected students, names D.C. Public Schools, the city's Office of the Inspector General of Education, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons as defendants.
DC is accused of denying students access to the schooling they are entitled to under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
OSSE said in a statement that it does not comment on ongoing litigation.
“We're simply advocating for the right to education for young people who have been completely denied it,” said Marja Prater, senior counsel at the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs.
Students convicted of what Prater called D.C. law violations will serve their sentences in the Federal Bureau of Prisons. That's because D.C. doesn't have a state prison. Students with disabilities “don't get an education while they're in prison,” she said.
Prater said the situation is unique. If the same students were incarcerated in Virginia or Maryland, they would be able to continue their education. “Because these systems have a process for getting an education at the state level.”
Prater said between 40 and 60 students are currently affected or could be affected in the future.
Prater said students with disabilities are represented in the Bureau of Prisons, but “there are no high school equivalency programs that allow them to access the special education and related services to which they are entitled.”
She added: “We are dealing with a complete lack of education. This is tantamount to a complete denial of their right to education.”
In 2018, The School Justice Project filed a lawsuit in federal court to obtain education rights “for exactly the same reasons,” Prater said. A district court judge ruled that D.C. has a duty to provide education to incarcerated students.
“The school district was paying attention at the time, but they were not prepared to provide an education to these young people,” Prater said.
Prater said the class members in the lawsuit “would be entitled to some compensatory education to make up for the time they lost without receiving an education.”
“Our client was denied special education instruction while incarcerated for D.C. code violations solely because of his status as a D.C. resident,” Tayo Bell, associate director of the School Justice Project, said in a statement. and are deprived of the right to receive services.”
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