by Elizabeth Darling
A federal judge dismissed a class action lawsuit July 10 that had been brought by parents of children with disabilities against the Ravenswood school district. Chief Judge Thelton Henderson, of the U.S. Northern District Court in San Francisco, dismissed the suit indicating the plaintiffs in the case, represented by the East Palo Alto Community Law Project, had not exhausted other non-legal remedies before filing their lawsuit.
Lawyers for eight disabled children filed suit Nov. 18, 1996 claiming the district violated state and federal laws protecting special education students.
The suit alleged that the district violated civil rights laws, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which guarantees that all children with disabilities have the right to a free, appropriate education in the most integrated setting possible.
The children's attorneys allege that they were able to advance grade levels, but they were deficient in reading and writing skills.
In the most egregious cases, the suit alleged that a girl was hit by a teacher because of her hyperactivity. Another child came home with a bloody lip after supposedly being hit by a teacher, the suit alleges.
Henderson granted a request by the Ravenswood City School District to dismiss the suit because the plaintiffs failed to exhaust administrative avenues required by the IDEA. Henderson pointed out that the state Department of Education is involved in an investigation of Ravenswood.
"Plaintiffs have presented no other evidence that undermines the adequacy of the (California Department of Education) investigation currently under way," he wrote. "Although it may have taken the instant suit to jolt CDE out of its torpor, prompt CDE intervention now appears likely . . ."
The state Department of Education, as a result of the lawsuit, is now examining Ravenswood's special education program.
Superintendent Charlie Mae Knight said she was "ecstatic. We knew we had not deliberately failed to serve those children. We are steadily going to try to improve those services."
As for the state's investigation, "If they find things that need to be corrected, we will correct them," she said.
David Giles, an attorney for the East Palo Alto Community Law Project, said he was disappointed with the decision, especially because if the court had chosen to maintain jurisdiction over the case, services would likely be provided to the students sooner. "The parents that brought the action have been seeking services for some time," some since 1995, Giles said. "We think it's somewhat of a setback."
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