Freeney RCS

Righting the wrongs in Texas special education? It truly takes a village!

This week the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a student and against Leander ISD in an important case involving one of the 400,000 students denied special education as a result of the enrollment cap DRTx uncovered a few years ago.

Leander ISD evaluated the child and recognized his need for special education but changed its position after a school-only meeting with the district’s attorney. A special education hearing officer and district court both agreed that the child qualified for special education. Leander ISD appealed, continuing to deny the child the needed services. But the 5th Circuit Court upheld the lower court’s decision.

Congratulations to the family’s attorney, Sonja Kerr with Hollingsworth & Zivitz. DRTx partnered with Decoding Dyslexia to file an amicus brief in support of the family, which was cited by the court in raising the systemic issues involving the enrollment cap.

A huge thank you to DRTx pro bono attorney and board member Brandon Duke with Winston Strawn for representing us in the case. Thank you also to COPAA for filing an additional amicus brief in support of the family.

Every day we’re one step closer to overcoming the delay and denial for necessary special education service in Texas. And we won’t stop until we get there!

Read the court opinion document at:http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/18/18-50160-CV0.pdf