Four parents are suing the Philadelphia School District, accusing the district of transferring their children to different schools because of the fact that they’re autistic, according to philly.com.
The parents filed their lawsuit on Monday in federal court.
The School District’s Automatic Autism Transfer Policy mandates that autistic students move to another school at the end of the third and fifth grade. Philly.com states that the policy affects at least 3,000 students district-wide.
The parents believe that the policy violates state and federal laws. Philly.com reports that two of the parents won due-process hearings this year. The hearings found that the district’s policy violated the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act since it kept the children out of neighboring schools and allowed the children’s autism-support classes to become overcrowded.
Two of the students referred to in the lawsuit are 9-year-olds finishing third grade at Richmond Elementary in Port Richmond. The other two are 8-year-olds finishing second grade at Richmond.
The parents of the children want the policy overturned so that the kids can attend support classes in their current schools, according to philly.com
The parents and their lawyers are holding a news conference on Tuesday to draw further attention to the case.
