Class-action suit challenges Virginia’s implementation of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

A class action suit filed Wednesday challenges Virginia enforcement of the Persons with Disabilities Education Act.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, says that when parents challenge school plans to educate their children, hearing officers have They rarely support their parents.

Federal law specifies the early intervention, special education, and other services that must be provided to eligible children and youth with disabilities to ensure that they receive an adequate education.

Parents who question the services being offered to their child can file a complaint and go before a judge, but the lawsuit says that about two-thirds of hearing officers have never done so in the past 20 years. He did not give a decision in favor of the parents.

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The lawsuit was filed by Trevor and Vivian Chaplick, parents of the Fairfax County Public Schools student, and disability advocacy organization Hear Our Voices Inc. is the founder of Her name is Fairfax County School Board and Division Superintendent Michelle Reed, Virginia Dept. of education and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Ballou.

Chapleks wanted her son, who has “experienced significant challenges in his life including autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder” and other disabilities, according to the suit, to be placed in a residential education facility, but the district Rejected the idea that he needed it. to skip the split.

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Despite warnings from the school system’s social worker that “they shouldn’t bother (with the case) because they’re going to ‘lose,'” Cheplucks proceeded with a due process hearing. Their son was placed in a residential educational facility, but according to his parents, the school division does not pay for the facility.

Chepluks launched an investigation into the state Department of Education, which Trevor Chepluk said hires, certifies, trains and pays hearing officers annually, giving schools rights to the officers. I have the urge to rule. He wants the state to set up an independent commission that has no financial interest in hearing its findings.

The plaintiffs seek a declaration that the hearing officer system “deprives families of due process,” the complaint states. They also want the department to be taken out of compliance with federal law.

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State spokesperson Department of Education And a spokeswoman for Fairfax County Schools did not immediately respond to the newspaper’s requests for comment.