In the case of Council of Parent Attorneys. & Advocates, Inc. v. Devos, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 36318, a federal district court held that the United States Department of Education (“DOE”) could not extend the compliance date for public schools to report racial disparities in special education programs.
Because the DOE determined that the nation’s public schools suffered from racial disparities within their special education programs in 2016, the DOE enacted a regulation giving public schools until July 2018 to report any racial disparity in their respective special education programs and suggest corrective action.
Shortly before the compliance date, the DOE announced that it would be extending the compliance date until July 2020 due to concerns of inefficient measuring of racial disparity. In response, a federal district court found that there was no legitimate reason for the DOE’s extension as the extension did not provide a new way of measuring racial disparity and vacated the extension.
The federal district court’s ruling does not explain what effect the ruling would have on the racial disparity reporting deadline. Please check our blog regularly for updates.
To read this case, click here.
Authors: Matthew John Markling and the McGown & Markling Team.
Note: This blog entry does not constitute – nor does it contain – legal advice. Legal jurisprudence is like the always changing Midwestern weather. As a result, this single blog entry cannot substitute for consultation with a McGown & Markling attorney. If legal advice is needed with respect to a specific factual situation, please feel free to contact a McGown & Markling attorney.