Dive Brief:
- District of Columbia Public Schools violated the civil rights of students with disabilities by denying timely evaluations, individualized placements and reliable transportation, according to results of a year-long investigation by the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights announced Wednesday.
- OCR said the Washington, D.C., district violated Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act by denying students with disabilities a free and appropriate public education. The office wants the district to revise policies related to the identification, evaluation and placement of students with disabilities, among other actions.
- In a statement Wednesday, a DCPS spokesperson said the district is reviewing OCR's letter and is taking the findings seriously. "We remain committed to ensuring students with disabilities receive every service and support they are entitled to under federal law," the statement said.
Dive Insight:
OCR's investigation found that DCPS allowed:
- Untrained staff members to make decisions about the educational needs of students with disabilities.
- Education services to be removed from students' individualized education programs if the school social worker ran out of time or if a student seemed unmotivated to participate.
- Some students to wait four months or longer for special education evaluations, which OCR said delayed the support needed for their learning and development.
The investigation also found that DCPS could not ensure students with disabilities had adequate transportation to and from school, "presenting serious safety concerns for these students," the OCR statement said.
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said in a Wednesday statement that DCPS must take immediate action to remedy the violations.
"Students and their families have been forced to demand accommodations the law entitles them through an adversarial system that, among other shortcomings, denies students timely evaluations, individualized placements, and reliable transportation that meets students’ needs,” Richey said.
OCR proposed a resolution agreement for DCPS to remedy the Section 504 and ADA violations. The agreement asks the district to establish a disability services division to oversee the provision of services to students with disabilities. It also requires annual training for educators, staff and administrators on procedures for serving students with disabilities.
OCR said that if an agreement is not reached, it may initiate enforcement action, although the office's statement didn't specify what that enforcement action would be.
There were 16,591 public school students in the District of Columbia who qualified for special education services in 2024-25, according to city government records. The increase in the number of students with disabilities over the past decade has outpaced overall student growth in the city. Public school enrollment of students with disabilities grew by 56% between the 2013-14 and 2024-25 school years, while total student enrollment increased by 20%.
DCPS said in its statement that OCR's findings "raises important issues related to policy clarity, coordination across divisions, and the accessibility of current information for families, including evaluations, service delivery, and transportation."
The use of multi‑tiered system of supports — a tiered intervention system that increases in intensity when students need higher levels of supports — is not meant to delay or deny student evaluations, placements or services, the district said. "We recognize the importance of ensuring our practices, training, and public materials clearly reflect that."
The district also said it is coordinating with the Office of the State Superintendent of Education to improve real‑time visibility of bus delays.
"We will continue to work closely with OCR to address action items and strengthen our systems in support of students and their families across the District," DCPS said.
