NEW YORK, June 4, 2025 – In a significant victory for a proposed class of New York City students with disabilities and their families, the Hon. Edgardo Ramos of the Southern District of New York, on May 27, 2025, denied the New York City Department of Education’s (“NYCDOE’s”) motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit filed against it and NYCDOE Chancellor David C. Banks that aims to rectify the NYCDOE’s systemic failures to meet their legal obligations to students with disabilities.
The lawsuit, originally filed by Mobilization for Justice and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in April 2023, addresses the NYCDOE’s extensive delays in providing special education evaluations to students with disabilities, which have deprived the Plaintiffs and the class of their right to a free and appropriate public education by denying them the special education services to which they are entitled.
The suit alleges that students with disabilities in New York City face unacceptably long delays in obtaining necessary special education evaluations, exacerbating their underlying disabilities and hindering their educational progress. It also alleges that Defendants have delayed providing special education evaluations directly to students, have delayed responding to requests for independent educational evaluations (“IEEs”), and have failed to pay independent evaluators who provide IEEs for their services in a timely manner, with some delays exceeding six months.
After more than a year of discovery, Defendants moved for dismissal of the lawsuit earlier this year, with the Court holding oral arguments on May 13, 2025. In its decision, the Court denied in significant part the NYCDOE’s motion to dismiss, sustaining Plaintiffs’ allegations that the DOE’s failure to provide timely evaluations and services has resulted in significant harm to students with disabilities. Specifically, the Court found that the Plaintiffs had plausibly alleged that delays in providing evaluations had denied them a free and appropriate public education in violation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”). The Court also found that the students had plausibly alleged that they were threatened with future educational harm due to NYCDOE’s systematic failure to evaluate students in the special education system in a timely manner. Finally, the Court also held that the Plaintiffs had plausibly alleged that the systematic delays in providing special education students with evaluations exhibited gross misjudgment, which violates the New York Education Law, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”).
Sebastian Riccardi, Staff Attorney in the Special Litigation Project at Mobilization for Justice, stated: “We are happy with the Court’s decision. Timely evaluations are critically important for thousands of students, predominantly low-income children of color, who depend on the NYCDOE’s special education services. We look forward to continuing to fight for these students with disabilities to get the services they need and are legally entitled to.”
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Mobilization for Justice (www.mobilizationforjustice.org) is a civil nonprofit legal services organization with offices in Manhattan and the Bronx whose mission is to achieve justice for all. MFJ prioritizes the needs of people who are low-income, disenfranchised, or have disabilities as they struggle to overcome the effects of social injustice and systemic racism. MFJ provides the highest-quality free, direct civil legal assistance, conducts community education and builds partnerships, engages in policy advocacy, and brings impact litigation, with a focus on four key areas: Housing, Economic Justice, Disability and Aging Rights, and Children’s Rights. MFJ also promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace, and understands the need to eliminate all racial disparities to achieve justice for all.