Connecticut School District Responsible for Detainee's Special Education
by
Joseph C. Maya on Mar. 22, 2017
Other Education Criminal Juvenile Law Civil & Human Rights Civil Rights
Summary: Blog post on the rights of detained children to receive an education.
If you have a question or concern about special education law, school administration, federal standards, or the overall rights of a student, please feel free to call the expert education law attorneys at Maya Murphy, P.C. in Westport today at (203) 221-3100 .
In the case of State v. State Department of Education, a special education district appealed orders from the state department of education, which found that the district was liable to provide education services to a child while the child was held as a pre-trial detainee.
The special education school district within the state department of correction challenged orders of the state department of education finding that the district was required to provide educational services to the detained child. A hearing officer found that the district failed to provide the child with educational services during the child's incarcerations. The hearing officer issued orders requiring the district provide such services. The district argued that the hearing officer erroneously found that state and federal laws required the district to provide special education to pre-trial detainees. The scope of the federal law, imposed on participating states, extended to cover all children with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The court found that IDEA required the state to provide special education to children like the child, who were in custody as pre-trial detainees, prior to sentencing. The district's appeal was sustained and the court remanded to the department of education for further proceedings because some of the orders issued by the hearing officer went beyond the subject of defendant's special education needs.
In conclusion, the court found that the district was required to provide special education services to pretrial detainees like the child. The court remanded the orders to the state department of education where the hearing officer exceeded her authority by fashioning orders that went beyond defendant's special education needs. The court specified the period of compensatory special education for the child.
If you have a child with a disability and have questions about special education law, please contact Joseph C. Maya, Esq., at 203-221-3100, or at JMaya@mayalaw.com, to schedule a free consultation.
For continuous access to the legal world, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn. We offer the latest updates on caselaw and legal news. In addition, informational videos are available for your convenience on our YouTube channel.
Source- State v. State Dep't of Educ., 45 Conn. Supp. 57, 1996 Conn. Super. LEXIS 2122, 699 A.2d 1077 (Conn. Super. Ct. 1996)
