A federal investigation into whether a large urban school district placed students with disabilities in segregated classrooms has pushed the district to commit to change the ways in which it makes placement decisions.
The case involves the 9,500-student school district of East Orange, NJ. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) launched an investigation to determine whether the district discriminated against students with disabilities by inappropriately placing them in self-contained classes instead of regular education classes. Federal law requires school districts to place students with disabilities in the regular educational environment, with supports and accommodations, to the maximum extent possible.
OCR found that during the 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years, more than 60 percent of students with disabilities in East Orange — many of them students with learning disabilities — were placed in self-contained classrooms. Students were placed in a particular setting based on statements made by teachers or references to educational testing without explanation of why an integrated setting wouldn’t work.
Based on OCR’s findings, the district must review the placement of all students currently placed in segregated classrooms. In addition, the district must revise practices to ensure future placement decisions are made in accordance with the law.
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