Office of Civil Rights Complaint - Jefferson County Public School District

Legal Staff with Children’s Law Center brought together advocates on behalf of students in the Jefferson County Public School System and filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights on behalf of children in the Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS). The complaint, filed on May 20, 2011, on behalf of half a dozen students and their families along with all other students similarly situated, outlines the overuse of harsh discipline practices against these students and seeks systemic relief as well as greater community involvement and accountability in review of discipline practices in Jefferson County Public Schools. Students with identified disabilities comprise 16% of the total JCPS student population, according to data kept by the Kentucky Department of Education, yet they represent 38% of the total suspensions.  African American students with disabilities comprise 44% of the disabled student population, but 71% of the disabled student suspensions. Only 35% of the JCPS high school population is African American, but they comprised 63% of all suspensions during the 2008-2009 school year.  African American students comprise 36% of the total middle school population but 60% of the middle school suspensions while Caucasian students make up 54% of the population, but only 33% of the total suspensions.  The complainants are seeking systemic relief to aid all students in the school district including district-wide training in Positive Behavior Interventions, a revision of the school code of conduct and the tracking and review of data on school disciplinary practices to remove disparity and ensure accountability. To learn more about the issues surrounding school displinary practices, read Addressing the Problem: The Overuse of Suspensions, Court Referrals and Althernative School Placements to Address School Discipline by Ronald K. Lospennato.

Letter to the Office of Civil Rights

Complaint

Press Release

Disciplinary Practices Agreement - Fayette County Public School System

Legal staff with the Children’s Law Center negotiated an agreement with the Fayette County Public School System to address disparity in discipline practices which disproportionally impact youth of color and students with disabilities in the school system. The commitment by the Fayette County Public Schools is a multi-year agreement. Components of the agreement include a detailed collection and review of data tracking discipline practices in the school including court charges against youth; the creation of compliance committees that include community members to ensure compliance in the agreement, district-wide training in Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (PBIS), a revision of the school’s discipline code in accord with PBIS and a review of placement decisions and intervention plans for all children placed at the district’s alternative program, Martin Luther King Junior, Academy for Excellence. PBIS training will be conducted by the Kentucky Center for Instructional Discipline (KCID). CLC staff members are participating in compliance committee meetings and ongoing review of progress with KCID and the FCPS. To learn more about this agreement listen to the CLC radio blog interview with former Superintendent Stu Silberman, Civil Rights Compliance Officer Barbara Connor, KCID PBIS specialist Judy Boggs and lead attorney Rebecca Ballard DiLoreto.

Radio Blog Interview

Press Release (PDF)

Settlement Agreement, December 15, 2010 (PDF) 

S.H. v. Stickrath, Case No. 2:04-cv-1206 (S.D. Ohio)

Originally filed in 2004 on behalf of girls at the Scioto Juvenile Correctional Facility, this federal class action civil rights case alleging widespread unconstitutional conditions was expanded in 2007 to include all facilities operated by or under contract with the Ohio Department of Youth Services.The suit alleged system-wide failure regarding conditions of confinement that endangered youth’s health, safety, and well-being and denied them of due process.  State and youth attorneys worked collectively to create a comprehensive settlement that was approved by the court in May 2008.  The goal is to have a system more equipped to provide youth with treatment and education needs while also promoting public safety.  The settlement requires that DYS provide youth individual care, treatment, and rehabilitative services in the least restrictive setting consistent with youth’s needs, documented security concerns and generally accepted professional standards of care.  It also includes a long term goal of closing large institutional facilities and creating a system of smaller community based rehabilitative programs.

Cohen Fact Finding Report (Dec. 2007)

Ohio Department of Youth Services Plans Facility Closures, Columbus Dispatch

46-Second Amended Complaint

Order Approving Settlement

S.H. v. Stickrath Fact Sheet

Second Annual Monitoring Report by Cohen: Appendices available on requestchildrenslaw@fuse.net

Joint Plan Reforming Release Authority

PRESS RELEASE- New Federal Monitor Appointed to Lead Team
in Ohio Federal Class Action Lawsuit

Injunction Prohibiting Use of Special Force Teams

Motion for Injunction Prohibiting Use of Special Force Teams

Supplemental Motion for Injunction Prohibiting Use of Special Force Teams 

J.J. v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, Case No. 2:07-cv-170 (S.D. Ohio)

This class action civil rights case challenges the policies and practices of the Ohio Department of Youth Services Release Authority as arbitrary and unreasonable, and lacking in adequate due process protections.  J.J. was transferred on 12/23/08 to the docket of Judge Algenon Marbley.  Extensive negotiations for revamping the Release Authority have been underway since May and should be incorporated into the remedy in S.H. v. Stickrath.

Complaint

J.P. v. Taft, Case No.2:04-cv-692 (S.D. Ohio)

This class action civil rights case was brought on behalf of all incarcerated youth in the custody of the Department of Youth Services, challenging the failure of the state to provide access to the courts through attorneys that can assist them in challenging fact, duration and conditions of confinement. The case settled in March of 2007 with a Stipulation of Settlement that has created a legal assistance program for youth in the nine DYS facilities.

First Report by Expert Vince Nathan
Stipulation of Settlement
Order Terminating Consent Decree