This entire Portland Public Schools Special Education Lawsuit is about how some parents went out there to seek repayments for the lack of work the public schools had done, and that’s why they had to remove their kids and enroll them in private schools. But this time, it is the school district that is going against a decision already made in this case about the repayments, and fighting it out the legal way. Let’s see what went down so far.
Why Did Portland Public Schools End Up in Court?
This whole situation traces back to 2017 when a student started at a Portland public elementary school and decided to be part of a Spanish immersion program. The main idea of this program is that most of the teaching is done in Spanish, whereas the child is expected to pick up English mostly at home.
Initially, there was no trouble indicated at all. Gradually, however, the pupil started having difficulty in reading. In 2021, the educators had already become aware of the problem, but the parents state that they were not adequately told how grave the situation was.
Testing in 2022 revealed the student was performing his reading at one of the lowest levels. It was at that time that the parents asked for more support. The school finally acknowledged that the student was eligible for special education services but the family felt that the assistance was given too late.
What Is Special Education Supposed to Do?
Special education is intended to help students who have difficulties learning and require additional support. After a school identifies a student who is having consistent academic difficulties, the school is required to assess the student and, if it is necessary, develop an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for the student.
An IEP is basically a tailor-made educational plan of instruction that will cater to the needs of the student. In case the parents think that their school has either delayed the process or neglected to take the required action, they are free to go against the decision, and it is their right to ask the state to conduct a formal review of the matter.
This is what happened in the case under discussion.
What Did the State Decide?
In June 2024, a local hearing officer reconsidered the case and sided with the parents. The finding pointed out that the school district took an excessive amount of time to properly assess the pupil and the support was not given early enough.
As a result of this delay, the state instructed Portland Public Schools to pay back the family. The total sum was around $121,000, which included:
- Private school tuition for two years
- Costs of educational testing
- Travel expenses related to the case
The private institution is dedicated to children with learning differences and its annually high fees of over $50,000 are the reason behind the large total.
Why Did the School District File a Lawsuit After That?
To avoid paying the amount the state had ordered them to pay, Portland Public Schools took the matter to a federal court by suing the state in November 2024.
They (the district) argued that the state’s decision was erroneous and therefore invalid. They pointed out the limitation of time in raising the problem by the parents and cited the pandemic and the Spanish immersion program as reasons for the complication of the matter. The district also referred to texts that indicated the parents might already have planned to relocate their child to a private school even before asking for the refund.
Nonetheless, the parents stand by the state’s verdict as just, and they are determined to counter the lawsuit brought by the district.
