A federal court has upheld a decision to throw out a lawsuit filed on behalf of students with disabilities in Springfield, Massachusetts.
They claim they are segregated in an inferior school and deprived of a fair education.
The plaintiffs wanted students with mental disabilities to have the choice of being educated in their neighborhood schools, with special services, rather than sent to a school only for disabled students.
The class action suit was filed by the Center for Public Representation for the Parent/Professional Advocacy League, the Disability Law Center, and two unnamed students.
Lawyer Stephen Schwartz from the Center for Public Representation said the alternative school — called the Springfield Public Day School — provides a substandard education without extracurricular activities and it deprives students of a mainstream setting.
The school district argued students should use a special education appeals process, not a lawsuit.
Earlier, U.S. District Judge Mark Mastroianni agreed with the district. On August 8, the First Circuit Court upheld that decision.
Schwartz said families feel dejected.
