Disabled Rights Group Demands Special Education for Los Angeles Detainees
One of the newest areas of civil rights that disabilities advocates are taking aim at involve temporary incarceration in local jails.
Internal sources show that an advocacy group called the Disability Rights Legal Center is looking for individuals with developmental disabilities who have been detained in Los Angeles county jails as part of an effort to ensure that the municipality provides proper special education for them.
The DRLC is actively looking for these youths, maintaining that under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and California law, they are required to receive specialized educational services from the administration of local jails and incarceration centers. The group is looking for individuals aged 18 to 22 who are currently incarcerated or who have spent time in local jails within the last five years.
Archives on the DRLC web site reveal that the group has a history of successfully litigating for the rights of the disabled in several cases. One of their labors includes a legal effort against law enforcement in the nearby city of Long Beach, CA, where the issue concerned the lack of adequate communicational devices for the deaf or hearing impaired.
The current efforts of the DRLC show how seriously federal and state governments take legislation around educational rights for the disabled. Changes to the IDEA law in 2004 created even stricter requirements for school districts, many of which are struggling to provide the proper special education that is mandatory because of critical budget cuts in the down economy.
Los Angeles County public officials will need to respond to this legal challenge, and the pending suit may generate more similar cases in various parts of the country. This will show how legal representation in educational law cases can negotiate resolution of tricky situations where municipal budgets may not provide for the kind of special education that the law requires.
Michael Monheit is the managing lawyer at Monheit Law, outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has practiced law since 1989. Michael Monheit was the managing attorney of the law offices of Herbert Monheit — now Silverman and Fodera — a firm... Michael Monheit→