On May 22, 1992, the parents of several children with disabilities filed this lawsuit against the Chicago Board of Education and Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. We could not get access to the original or amended complaint, but based on the settlement agreement the claim was based on the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution. The plaintiffs, represented by private counsel and counsel from Equip for Equality, Designs for Change, and Northwestern University School of Law sought declaratory and injunctive relief, claiming that Chicago Public Schools (CPS) failed to provide an adequate education to children with disabilities.

Specifically, the Plaintiffs claimed that the Chicago Board of Education and Illinois State Board of Education implemented a policy of unnecessarily excluding children with disabilities from schools attended by their non-disabled peers. They further claimed that even when children with disabilities were permitted to attend the same schools as their non-disabled peers, the Defendants did not provide essential services, which were necessary for the disabled children to succeed in a regular class setting. The Plaintiffs petitioned for, and were granted class certification for all children in CPS who are or will be classified by CPS as having a disability.

On January 16, 1998, the Plaintiffs and the Chicago Board of Education signed an eight year settlement agreement, which required CPS to implement policies aimed at properly educating children with disabilities in the least restrictive environment possible. This included increases in special education staff, evaluation of progress of disabled students in a regular academic setting, and court monitoring of the Defendants' compliance and progress. In 2010, the Illinois State Board of Education agreed to extend its obligations under its own settlement agreement with the Plaintiffs.

The case is ongoing, and the ISBE is still required to prepare annual district-wide reports on CPS' progress to achieving the goals of the settlement agreement.

Joshua Arocho - 06/12/2012


compress summary