Students with Disabilities Class Action Lawsuit Overview:
- Who: Kanawha County School system students with disabilities.
- Why: A federal judge certified a class action lawsuit accusing the school system of failing to support students with disabilities, instead relying on policies of punishment and seclusion to address behaviors.
- Where: Kanawha County Schools are located in West Virginia.
A class action lawsuit alleging that Kanawha County Schools (KCS) unlawfully fails to provide effective behavior supports for its students with disabilities, leading to unjustified classroom removals, has been certified in a West Virginia court.
U.S. District Judge Irene Berger ruled that the 2020 lawsuit, in which KCS is accused of punishing students for their behaviors instead of developing and implementing effective behavior supports — required by law, could move ahead.
She wrote that the parents of two students and nonprofit The Arc of West Virginia, who filed the case, had “presented significant evidence that KCS does not provide the oversight, support, and resources necessary to support students with disabilities whose behavior impedes their learning or that of their classmates.”
“It is clear from the Plaintiffs’ data that for many students with emotional and intellectual disabilities, behavior issues are interfering with the ability to receive a FAPE [free and appropriate public education],” Berger ruled.
“The behaviors themselves interrupt class, the student’s removal interrupts his or her own learning, and continued behavior issues may unnecessarily prompt placement outside the general education environment. It is equally clear that KCS’s approach is not working.”
Students with Disabilities Face Isolation, Punishment
According to the lawsuit, Plaintiff G.T. is a third-grade KCS student diagnosed with autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. G.T. has significant strengths and could be educated successfully in a general education classroom with effective behavior supports, but has been denied effective behavior supports at his KCS public school and, as a result, has experienced disciplinary removals from school.
K.M., the second student plaintiff, has been diagnosed with Down Syndrome, oppositional defiant disorder, and ADHD and receives special education services, and has behavioral and academic difficulties. The claim says that he is frequently late or absent from school, refuses tasks he does not wish to complete, employs escape tactics, and acts out aggressively at times, and because of that has had repeated suspensions — including lengthy suspensions for violence toward teachers and staff.
Despite his parents advocating for him to spend more time in the general education classroom, his school placed him in a resource room for much of the school day and sought to move him to another elementary school, the lawsuit alleges.
“KCS fails to provide students with disabilities the instruction and services, including behavior supports, they need to succeed in school. As a result, these students drop out at a high rate and experience repeated yet avoidable disciplinary sanctions, including in-school and out-of-school suspensions, undocumented ‘send homes,’ placement in alternative schools, expulsions, and referrals to law enforcement.”
Students with Disabilities Deserve Equal Educational Opportunities, Says Judge
In her certification order, Berger wrote that one single policy change would not be sufficient to resolve the students’ and nonprofit’s allegations of violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, “but they seek a single injunction addressing multiple inadequacies in KCS’s special education program that would serve to remedy the claims of all class members.”
“Class members are generally impacted by most or all of the inadequate systems and processes cited by the Plaintiffs, in contrast to cases in which a class could be subdivided based on the different harms posed by each alleged flaw in a special education system,” she said.
The certification order adds that Americans with Disabilities Act requires public schools to modify their policies, practices, and procedures as needed to avoid discrimination, and to provide students with disabilities equal educational opportunities.
Effective behavior supports should include Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs) of the student’s behaviors, Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs) identifying interventions addressing those behaviors, and other positive behavior interventions and supports. Throughout the claim, the parents allege that KCS did not have adequate FBAs or BIPs in place for students.
“Without them, they are at high risk of doing poorly in school, becoming involved in the delinquency or criminal systems, and being unable to obtain a job or live independently as they transition to adulthood.”
KCS isn’t the only school district to face legal action over its treatment of students with disabilities. In 2020, a group of parents filed a federal class action lawsuit against New York city and state education officials over alleged shortcomings in remote learning for the city’s special needs students since the pandemic began.
Are you the parent or caregiver of a student with disabilities? Tell us what you think about this class action lawsuit in the comments section!
The students are represented by Lydia C. Milnes and Blaire L. Malkin of Mountain State Justice, Inc.; Erin Snyder and Lori Waller of Disability Rights West Virginia; Michael Faris and Karen Klass of Latham & Watkins LLP; Ira A. Burnim, Lewis Bossing and Judge David L. Bazelon of Center for Mental Health Law; and Shira Wakschlag of The Arc of the United States.
The West Virginia Students with Disabilities Class Action Lawsuit is G.T. v. Kanawha County Schools, Case No. 2:20-cv-00057, U.S. District Court For The Southern District Of West Virginia.
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2 thoughts onStudents with Disabilities Win Cert in Class Action Alleging School System Used Punishment, Isolation
My son is 3 non verbal and doesn’t eat. He had and iep done and referred to a special Ed school where he has been hurt several times leaving several permanent scars on his face and head. No accident report or clear explanation of what is happening. I recorded the bus driver being sleepy and nodding behind the wheel of the school bus
I am a student with adhd and I have an issue that happened in school that I’m not sure about, I have a video of the whole interaction and was wondering if someone could take a look