FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 20, 2024
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Margaretta Kroeger, CLASI Communications Director, mkroeger@declasi.org
U.S. Department of Justice Files Statement of Interest in Federal Lawsuit Filed on Behalf of Incarcerated Students with Disabilities by CLASI and TPM
DOJ Provides Position of United States in Litigation Against Delaware Dept. of Education
WILMINGTON, DE—The United States, through its Department of Justice (“DOJ”) filed a Statement of Interest of the United States of America on August 13, 2024, in the federal lawsuit filed by Community Legal Aid Society, Inc. (“CLASI”) and public interest law firm Terris, Pravlik & Millian, LLP (“TPM”): CLASI v. Adult and Prison Education Resources Workgroup, et al., Civil Action No. 24-615-SRF. CLASI’s lawsuit alleges that Delaware has systemically failed to provide special education services to incarcerated students with disabilities in violation of federal and state law. (More information about the lawsuit can be found here).
The DOJ’s decision to provide the position of the United States in the case highlights the importance of the matters involved in the litigation; the Statement of Interest is intended “to assist the Court in its analysis” of issues before it, including issues related to CLASI’s Motion for a Preliminary Injunction. CLASI’s motion seeks an order from the federal court in Delaware requiring the Delaware Department of Education (“DDOE”) and its Adult and Prison Education Resources Workgroup (“APER”) to immediately remedy their ongoing failures, comply with the law, and develop and implement policies and procedures to ensure that students with disabilities receive an appropriate public education while they are involved with the criminal justice system.
The DOJ will occasionally file statements with federal courts to explain the interest of the United States in litigation between private parties; it filed a statement in the CLASI v. APER suit based on its interest in enforcing the federal legal rights of individuals in institutions.
“Students with disabilities in adult correctional facilities do not forfeit their right to a free appropriate public education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA),” wrote the DOJ in its Statement of Interest. Among other things, the DOJ explained that, “[e]xcept under narrow circumstances not applicable here, correctional facilities are not exempt from ensuring that all IDEA-eligible students receive special education and related services in the least restrictive environment” (emphasis added). It underscored just how important this education is when it noted that “[t]hirty to eighty percent of children and young adults in these facilities have disabilities.”
The DOJ also addressed the state’s argument that CLASI’s lawsuit should be dismissed because it must first pursue or “exhaust” other administrative procedures before suing in court. The DOJ rejected this argument, stating that where “plaintiffs challenge systemic violations—as CLASI does here” they do not need to satisfy the IDEA’s exhaustion requirement. The DOJ characterized the state’s argument as a “manufactured distinction between unlawful policies and systemic implementation failures,” and stated that “nothing in the statute, its legislative history, or subsequent case law supports” it.
The DOJ concluded that “State agencies like Defendants DDOE (including APER) and DDOC [Delaware Department of Correction] are jointly responsible for the delivery of special education and related services to all eligible students with disabilities at [adult correctional facilities] Young and Vaughn. Neither agency can avoid that responsibility by sloughing it off on their counterpart. They also cannot avoid that responsibility by suggesting that allegations of systemic unlawful practices are insufficient to excuse the IDEA’s exhaustion requirement” (emphasis added).
“We very much appreciate the DOJ lending their expertise here,” said Marissa Band, Project Director of CLASI’s Disabilities Law Program. “DOJ’s Statement of Interest supports what we have long argued,” she continued, “that Delaware’s students incarcerated in correctional facilities do not lose their IDEA rights to receive special education and related services—including their right to be educated in the least restrictive environment—except in the statutorily defined, narrow circumstances.”
Todd Gluckman, Partner at TPM, added: “The DOJ has expertise in the area of education and disability rights and its capacity to file statements of interest is limited. The fact that it saw this as a case in which to offer the position of the United States underscores the importance of this case and the issues being litigated here.”
Oral argument on CLASI’s Motion for a Preliminary Injunction is scheduled for September 19, 2024.
A copy of the U.S. DOJ’s Statement of Interest can be found here.
CLASI and TPM’s Press Release about the lawsuit and Motion for a Preliminary Injunction can be found here.
A copy of the Complaint can be found here.
A copy of the Motion for a Preliminary Injunction can be found here and the Proposed Preliminary Injunction can be found here.
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About Community Legal Aid Society, Inc. and the Disabilities Law Program
Founded in 1946, the mission of Community Legal Aid Society, Inc. (“CLASI”) is to combat injustice through creative and persistent civil legal advocacy on behalf of vulnerable and underserved Delawareans. CLASI provides free legal representation to people with disabilities, people aged 60 or over, people with low incomes, and victims of crime and discrimination to help our clients obtain shelter, government benefits, educational services, medical services, orders of protection from abuse, legal immigration status, and other civil legal remedies. CLASI has offices in Wilmington, Dover, and Georgetown, Delaware. To learn more, please visit: https://www.declasi.org/
CLASI’s Disabilities Law Program (“DLP”) provides free legal representation to children and adults with physical and mental disabilities to protect them from abuse and neglect and to advocate for their legal rights. The DLP is designated by the Governor as Delaware’s “Protection and Advocacy” system (“P&A”) for people with disabilities. To learn more about the DLP, please visit: https://www.declasi.org/disabilities-law-program/
About Terris, Pravlik & Millian, LLP
Terris, Pravlik & Millian, LLP (“TPM”) was established in Washington, DC in 1970 as one of the first private public interest law firms in the country. TPM specializes in complex civil rights litigation and has represented individuals and groups in the areas of civil rights, poverty, and environmental law, serving those who could not otherwise afford legal representation. Our cases include advocating for special education access in the District of Columbia for young children and for young adults in correctional facilities, ensuring DC Medicaid recipients, including those with disabilities, have access to services, and pursuing the clean-up of hazardous and other waste sites. Learn more at https://www.tpmlaw.com/.
