The Providence Public School District (PPSD) can now move past a federal class action lawsuit over the delivery of special education services for hundreds of preschoolers after being deemed compliant with the terms of a settlement reached two years ago.
An independent monitor has determined that school officials met all the conditions spelled out in an August 2023 settlement, according to an announcement Wednesday morning by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Rhode Island and the Rhode Island Center for Justice. The settlement was reached in a lawsuit filed in July 2023 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island.
The plaintiffs, Parents Leading for Educational Equity (PLEE) and three children and their parents, claimed that Providence schools and the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) neglected to provide hundreds of children between ages 3 and 5 with the necessary accommodations for learning disabilities.
“Based on the work of RIDE and Providence Schools special educators, children are now getting the timely services the law requires,” Jennifer Wood, executive director of the Rhode Island Center for Justice, which was part of the plaintiffs’ legal team, said in a statement Wednesday.
The plaintiffs’ arguments were rooted in the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which mandates that students must be provided a “free appropriate public education” beginning on their third birthday.
Under federal law, children with disabilities under age 3 are also entitled to early intervention services to better prepare them for pre-K.
“That law always envisioned children moving seamlessly from early intervention into pre-school without a damaging interruption of services and support,” Wood added. “Children in Providence who are identified as needing extra support before the age of three are no longer falling into that gap of delayed evaluation and services.”
Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green said the state agency was also “pleased the progress we have made has led to the successful conclusion of court monitoring.”
“With RIDE’s support, Providence Public Schools has expanded its evaluation capacity, improved placement timelines, and ensured that families have timely access to the services their children need,” Infante-Green said. “These meaningful improvements have strengthened and streamlined critical support for students and families.”
Providence Superintendent Javier Montañez said in a statement issued alongside Infante-Green’s that, with RIDE’s help, the district was “able to grow our Pre-K department and improve our pre-kindergarten evaluation systems to ensure that all Providence students have access to a quality early childhood education.”
The plaintiffs’ legal team argued that the district regularly missed required evaluations or evaluated children too slowly, and did not place students in special education programs, also known as Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), in a timely fashion.
“The successful closure of this lawsuit marks years of dedication from families and advocates who refused to accept a system that denied young children the services they deserve and are legally entitled to,” Ramona Santos Torres, the executive director of Parents Leading for Educational Equity, said in a statement Wednesday.
The August 2023 settlement mandated that city and state education officials evaluate children in a timely way, and place them promptly in IEPs as needed. The district was also asked to add personnel to conduct this work. Parents could also opt to enlist outside evaluators and charge the costs to the district.
An external monitor, Thru Consulting LLC, was hired to track deadlines and file reports on the district and RIDE’s monthly progress. Those reports included data on students who were overdue for evaluations, with no more than 10 overdue students allowed at once.
Providence schools also had to clear the backlog of students who had not been evaluated, and needed to have at least three full-time preschool evaluation teams by Sept. 20, 2023, plus at least one team of part-timers with weekday evening and Saturday availability. Contracts with outside evaluators were required by Aug. 25, 2023.
Parents whose children did not receive an evaluation by Sept. 15, 2023, were informed they could go to an outside evaluator at the district’s expense. The district had to pay these evaluators at regional rates, and waive out-of-state licensing barriers if needed.
The district was initially expected to close the settlement and satisfy its terms by July 1. That didn’t happen, so the court extended oversight to Nov. 1, the ACLU press release said, the monitor’s most recent report last month found “substantial compliance,” so the suit can close.
“We will continue to monitor this issue, as it is important that the compliance continue,” Ellen Saideman, an ACLU of RI cooperating attorney, said in a statement.
This story was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
