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What is the ReOpen Class Action Lawsuit?
There are more than 7 million students in the United States between 3 and 21 years of age receiving special education services, under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Specific special education services for each student are formalized in a contract between the school district and parents, otherwise known as an Individualized Education Program or IEP.
In mid-March 2020, school districts around the nation unilaterally closed schools, sent students and staff home to receive “remote learning”, or no services at all. In many cases, the local school districts failed to even provide live synchronous service to these students while they were home. Instead, the responsibility for “remote learning” became the sole responsibility of parents across America. Many parents had to quit or lost their jobs and some had to pay money out of their own pocket to do what the local school districts were getting paid to do: provide educational services to their disabled children!
The school districts violated the federal civil rights of these students under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). School districts unlawfully changed students’ special education services and discriminated against them because of their disabilities. To this day, most school districts continue to violate the federal rights of students and their parents. Civil Rights attorney, Patrick Donohue, and the not-for-profit Brain Injury Rights Group, have filed a National Class Action Lawsuit on behalf of millions of special education students across the country. The lawsuit seeks to reopen their schools to provide in-person services OR provide a Pendency Voucher for parents to self-cure. It also seeks compensation for the students and parents for the failure of their school districts to provide a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) since schools were shut down during the coronavirus crisis.
More than 500 families from over 25 states have already signed up to be part of the national class action. Click here to join or for more information go to www.ReOpenClass.com or call our toll-free hotline: 888-927-4332 / 888-927-IDEA.
What kind of relief is the ReOpen Class Action Lawsuit seeking?
1. (A) Either ReOpen Class immediately and provide the in-person instruction and other services as outlined in each students’ IEP, or (B) Issue a Pendency Voucher to allow parents to self-cure;
2. Order the school districts to conduct independent evaluations of each student with a disability to determine: (A) what compensatory services the students may need to make up for their missed services and (B) make any updates to the students’ IEPs;
3. Order the school districts to reimburse parents for any expenses or loss of employment due to the failure of the school districts providing services as per the students’ IEPs; AND
4. Award parents punitive damages based on the intentional and willful violations of the federal rights of parents and students.
The complaint was filed in federal district court in the Southern District of New York.
Who is eligible to participate in the ReOpen Class Action?
The ReOpen Class Action is a national class action lawsuit open to any school-aged child (aged 3-21) with a disability (has an IEP or a 504 plan), that has been negatively impacted by the forced COVID-19 school closures.
Parents and/or natural guardians of students with a disability have joined together as Plaintiffs in a national class action lawsuit.
My child is 21 is he/she eligible to participate in the class action?
Yes, the class action applies to any child who had an IEP in March 2020 and was supposed to receive special education or support or related services, including those that were supposed to transition in June or September 2020. If you are still unsure if you are eligible, please call our toll-free hotline: 888-927-4332 / 888-927-IDEA.
My child is in preschool, is he/she eligible to participate in the class action?
Yes, the ReOpen ClassAction is a national class action lawsuit open to any school-aged child (aged 3-21) with a disability (has an IEP or a 504 plan), that has been negatively impacted by the forced COVID-19 school closures. This applies to any child who had an IEP in March 2020 and was supposed to be receiving special education or support or related services, including those that were supposed to transition into Kindergarten in September 2020.
If you are still unsure if you are eligible, please call our toll-free hotline: 888-927-4332 / 888-927-IDEA.
My child is receiving Early Intervention, is he/she eligible to participate in the class action?
No, the ReOpen Class Action is only open to school-aged children aged 3-21.
If you are still unsure if your child is eligible please call our toll-free hotline: 888-927-4332 / 888-927-IDEA.
Are there legal fees to take part in the class action lawsuit?
Legal representation for the ReOpen Class Action is completely Pro Bono/FREE. Please note that if we are the prevailing party in certain instances we can seek legal fees for the work we did on the matter, any legal fees that we seek will NOT be billed to families.
Has there been anything in the news about the class action lawsuit?
Yes, Civil Rights attorney, Patrick Donohue and founder of Brain Injury Rights Group have recently been featured on:
NY NBC News
Father of Developmentally-Challenged Student Files Lawsuit to Reopen Schools
NY1
Lawsuit Alleges Schools Abandoned Special Needs Students
NY Post
Lawsuit rips schools for abandoning special needs kids amid COVID-19 pandemic
8 AM Hour The Joe Piscopo Show 8-3-20
For latest updates:
I don’t see my child’s school district is he/she eligible?
Any child with a disability (has an IEP or 504 plan) aged 3-21 that lives in the United States and Puerto Rico, that have been affected by the school closures is eligible.
What are the most common complaints that parents have had with the school shutting down?
1. Remote Instruction is Not Appropriate - Many children cannot focus for more than 5 minutes on a computer screen, many have vision issues, or require hand over hand instruction.
2. Not Accessible to All - Some parents were not provided with equipment, while others had problems connecting to WiFi.
3. Live instruction Not Provided - Very few teachers gave live instruction and when they did connections were horrible, with delays in audio and visuals, making it very frustrating for students. The most "meaningful" interactions have been teachers checking in through phone calls.
4. Seeing Classmates and Teachers Online is Upsetting - Students have had a mix of reactions from crying for hours because they miss their teachers, paras and classmates so much, to being so upset that the students are breaking their laptops or attempting to break their laptops.
5. Parents Left to Teach - The sole responsibility of teaching was left to the parents, without proper training or the skills. In addition, many families have more than one child with special needs - having 1 child with special needs is challenging enough, 50% of the families participating in the lawsuit have 2, 3 and even 4 children with special needs.
6. Regression, Aggression, Depression - Parents are seeing behaviors they have not seen in years and report that their children have lost skills that have taken years to acquire. Almost all families have reported a big increase in aggression and self-injurious behavior. The most devastating is hearing of kids, who were once happy in school are now suffering from depression.
7. Loss of income - Many families have had to take time off work or lost their jobs, to care for their kids because they could not find a caregiver.
More than 500 families from over 25 states have already signed up to be part of the ReOpen Class Action Lawsuit. If you have a school aged child (aged 3-21) with a disability (has an IEP or a 504 plan), that has been negatively impacted by the forced COVID-19 school closures they are eligible to participate.
What is your privacy policy?
All information received from a client is strictly confidential. Our firm takes every step possible to protect your privacy. The data submitted via this form is encrypted and secured using industry-standard 128-bit SSL encryption.
The retainer agreement states that there are legal fees. Is this lawsuit still pro bono?
Legal representation for the Covid Class Action is completely pro bono/FREE. If we are the prevailing party in certain instances we can seek legal fees for the work we did on the matter, any legal fees that we seek will NOT be billed to you at all. [SEE COMMENT ABOVE]
What are the next steps after signing the retainer agreement?
If you have not submitted an IEP, one of our associates will be reaching out to you to submit. When we receive your signed retainer agreement, we will then be able to request the court to issue a summons that will be served to your child’s school district.
What exactly is the goal of this lawsuit? What will I gain from it?
This lawsuit is seeking to either ReOpen Class immediately and provide in-person instruction and other services as outlined in each students’ IEP, or to Issue a Pendency Voucher to allow parents to self-cure. Secondly, the class action is seeking to order the school districts to conduct independent evaluations of each student with a disability to determine what compensatory services the students may need to make up for all of the missed services and to make IEP updates that may be needed. In addition, the class action seeks to order the school districts to reimburse parents for any expenses or loss of employment due to the failure of the school districts.
Lastly the class action seeks to award parents punitive damages based on the intentional and willful violations of the federal rights of parents and students to provide a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) since schools switched to remote learning in mid-March.
I have good relationships with the teachers at my child’s school. Will this lawsuit directly affect them?
While we cannot control or predict what actions a school district may take, actions taken by a school district in retaliation for your participating in the lawsuit is serious and a violation of federal law. Your family’s privacy will be preserved to the fullest extent possible.
When is the deadline to submit the IEP or 504 plan?
We will need that information and any other information you may have, including emails or letters from the school district related to its Covid-19 actions, as soon as you can. They can be sent via email.
I don’t have a child but I want to help out with the ReOpen Class Action Lawsuit?
There are more than 7 million students in the United States between 3 and 21 years of age receiving special education services, under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In mid-March 2020, school districts around the nation unilaterally closed schools, sent students and staff home to receive “remote learning”, or no services at all. Many parents had to quit or lost their jobs and some had to pay money out of their own pocket to do what the local school districts were getting paid to do: provide educational benefits to their disabled children!
To this day, most school districts continue to violate the federal rights of students and their parents. Civil Rights attorney, Patrick Donohue, and Brain Injury Rights Group have filed a National Class Action Lawsuit on behalf of millions of special education students across the country. There are three ways you can get involved to help
Your tax-deductible donation will help Brain Injury Rights Group* empower families and advocate for their educational rights in the ReOpen Class Action Lawsuit.
The ReOpen Class Action Lawsuit is committed to advocating and providing services to families and others who have a brain injury or brain-based disorder. If you would like to make a referral or interested in partnering with us, please do not hesitate to contact us through our contact form.
Connect With Us and don’t forget to like and share. By liking and sharing information for the ReOpen Class Action, you will help Civil Rights attorney, Patrick Donohue, and Brain Injury Rights Group reach millions of special education students across the country, who have had their federal civil rights violated under the Individuals with Disability Education Act (IDEA). Check us out on Social Media. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
*Brain Injury Rights Group is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Copyright © 2021 Brain Injury Rights Group: COVID-19 ReOpen Class - All Rights Reserved.
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