Charles H. v. District of Columbia Class Action

In April 2021, School Justice Project and co-counsel from the Washington Lawyers’ Committee and the law firm of Terris, Pravlik & Millian, LLP, filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of three incarcerated students at the DC Jail complex against the District of Columbia for denying the students of their special education instruction and services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The lawsuit alleged that the District of Columbia, District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), and the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) violated students’ special education rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and other federal and local laws when they failed to provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) and failed to supervise the school at the DC Jail. The District settled with Plaintiffs and created a new school at the DC Jail, updated policies at the Jail that were inclusive of students with disabilities, and the compensatory education class members received nearly $4.1 million in funding to be used towards their education or workforce development goals.

  • In June 2021, a federal district court judge agreed with the plaintiffs that immediate court intervention was necessary and issued a preliminary injunction requiring the school system to provide education in compliance with the students’ Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) within 15 days of the Court’s order. The preliminary injunction ordered the District to provide students “with the full hours of special education and related services mandated by their [Individualized Education Program (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” by July 1, 2021. To help monitor defendants’ compliance with the injunction, the judge also ruled that the District submit monthly reports to the court on the status of their provision of FAPE to each student.

    Shortly after the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year, the District replaced DCPS as the LEA responsible for the provision of education at the DC Jail complex. The District contracted with Maya Angelou Public Charter School Academy (“Maya Angelou PCS”), the same charter school network responsible for providing special education to the students at the District’s short and long-term secure juvenile detention centers, Youth Services Center (YSC) and New Beginnings. On October 1, 2021, Maya Angelou Public Charter School — Academy took over education at the DC Jail complex.

    Because plaintiffs were still not receiving the special education instruction and related services guaranteed to them under federal and local law following the issuance of the preliminary injunction, plaintiffs filed a motion alleging that the District was in contempt of the federal judge’s injunction. The federal court agreed. In February 2022, the court held the District in contempt. In the judge’s Contempt Order, he noted that, “every student currently enrolled in the Program remains at an inexcusable educational deficit for this school year—a failure all the more baffling given that the Court entered its Preliminary Injunction months before the school year began.” The judge further stated “[i]t is beyond doubt (indeed, it is essentially conceded) that Defendants have failed, and are continuing to fail, to comply with the Preliminary Injunction. They have had ample time to do so, yet remain out of compliance.”

    To remedy the contempt, the Court ordered the District to submit individualized plans to provide the special education hours missed for each student enrolled at the high school at the DC Jail from September 1, 2021 through January 31, 2022; have a fully operational remote learning system in place by March 15, 2022, to provide the required special education services when necessary, and to extend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) eligibility for all students that would have received special education services had the District complied with the preliminary injunction.

    Despite the rulings in the plaintiff’s favor by the federal court, the District continued to fail to provide all class members the special education and related services required by their IEPs and the injunction. Class counsel regularly learned from our clients about changes to educational delivery. Plaintiffs continued to fight for their education rights in federal district court with the hopes of obtaining systemic educational reform for all current and future students at the DC Jail complex. SJP’s attorneys continued to work to ensure that each student within DC Jail was receiving the education they were entitled to as well as supports and services to make up for lost schooling.

    On June 30, 2022, the case was referred to Magistrate Judge Harvey for mediation and the parties remained in active, confidential settlement negotiations over several months.

    On September 22, 2023, the plaintiffs received great news — the parties reached a settlement agreement! The 69-page settlement agreement covers a number of remedial and injunctive relief measures. Foremost, the settlement agreement details policies and practices that must be addressed in order to provide a full-time guarantee of special education to students detained at the DC Jail. The settlement agreement also provides compensatory education for those plaintiffs who were deprived of their education during the COVID-19 pandemic in the amount of nearly $4.1 million for class members. These compensatory education services may be used by plaintiffs to continue their education and/or to pursue transition services, as provided for under the IDEA, to access vocational and job training programs. Importantly, the agreement establishes the role of an independent Third-Party Auditor who will oversee the implementation of the settlement agreement to ensure fidelity with the aims of the agreement.

    SJP is thrilled about the result of this landmark class action case and applauds our clients for their courageous pursuit of this litigation throughout the past two and a half years. SJP will continue to assist the plaintiff class in their receipt of the educational services they are entitled to under the settlement agreement.

“[E]very student currently enrolled in the Program remains at an inexcusable educational deficit for this school year—a failure all the more baffling given that the Court entered its Preliminary Injunction months before the school year began. “

- Judge Carl Nichols, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (February 2022)