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Table of Contents

Alabama Foster Care System Illegally Segregates Students with Disabilities, DOJ Finds

Montgomery, AL – The state of Alabama has been found to be in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act for its treatment of students with emotional and behavioral disabilities in its foster care system.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Alabama conducted an investigation into allegations that the state denied children in foster care equal opportunity to basic educational services on the basis of disability.

According to findings released by the Justice Department, Alabama has relegated hundreds of students with disabilities to segregated and inferior educational programs in violation of Title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). The state’s foster care system automatically enrolls children in psychiatric residential treatment facilities (PRTFs) in segregated on-site schools without an appropriate educational assessment.

The investigation found that these children could be appropriately served in general education settings where they would receive the many documented academic and social benefits of inclusion. However, the state does not require PRTFs to consider whether the students could be served in age-appropriate community educational settings.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke stated, “Students with disabilities in Alabama’s foster care system are among the most vulnerable in the state’s care, and they deserve better than placement in segregated and inferior schools.”

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division Educational Opportunities Section conducted this investigation with the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Alabama. The full findings letter can be found below.