Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia

Law Center & Partners File to Reopen Language Access Case

Barb Macholz — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:14:20 +0000

The Law Center, Education Law Center and Drinker Biddle & Reath, LLP have filed to reopen a 1985 class action lawsuit to ensure immigrant and refugee parents and students receive access to language services.

The 1985 lawsuit, Y.S. v. School District of Philadelphia, represented plaintiffs including Y.S. – a 16-year-old student from Cambodia who did not speak English – when he was misidentified as needing special education services after school officials failed to communicate with him in his native language and incorrectly administered an evaluation designed for native-English speakers. Y.S. was labeled as mentally retarded and isolated in a special education classroom where he fell further behind. The school provided no translation or interpretation services to his parents, who also did not speak English, during this evaluation and placement process.

Y.S. and his family are just one of thousands of families in Philadelphia who have been discriminated against by the District’s failure to systemically address communication issues with non-English-speaking students and their families. In spite of years of compliance monitoring and intervention, the District has persisted in its failure to provide the language support services mandated by federal law and mandates that came out of the original case.

In the April 2013, the Law Center and its partners filed a Motion to Reopen the case citing the District’s failure since to meet the requirements of a 2010 Stipulation Amendment to provide translation and interpretation services during IEP meetings and in special education documents. Click here for more information on this case.

Language Services in School District of Philadelphia

Barb Macholz — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:32:46 +0000

In 1985 a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of Asian-language-speaking students and their parents sought to ensure individuals with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) received appropriate translation and interpretation services from the School District of Philadelphia. In the spring of 2013, after more than twenty five years of inconsistent compliance, the Law Center, in partnership with the Education Law Center and Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, filed to reopen the case in an effort to finally ensure that immigrant and refugee students and their parents receive the language services afforded to them under federal and local law.

Y.S., a 16-year-old student from Cambodia who did not speak English, was misidentified as needing special education services after school officials failed to communicate with him in his native language and incorrectly tested him with an evaluation designed for native-English speakers. Y.S. was labeled as mentally retarded and inappropriately isolated in a special education classroom where he fell further behind. The school provided no translation or interpretation services to his parents during this evaluation and placement process.

Y.S. and his family are just one of thousands of families in Philadelphia who have been discriminated against by the District’s failure to systemically address communication issues with non-Englis-speaking students and their families. At the time of the original case, other LEP students also received minimal language support and had no recourse against falling behind in school and struggling to learn in classes taught solely in English.

In spite of years of compliance monitoring and intervention, the District has persisted in its failure to provide the language support services mandated by federal law and mandates that came out of the original case. Today, parents continue to meet language obstacles that hinder them from participating in school meetings, conversations with their children’s teachers and counselors, and other school activities.

Case Documents

Current Case

Law Center and Partners File Motion to Reopen Case

In the April 2013, the Law Center, the Education Law Center and Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP filed a Motion to Reopen the case citing the District’s failure since the 2010 Stipulation Amendment to provide translation and interpretation services during IEP meetings and in special education documents. The District responded by requesting that the Court order the Plaintiffs to prove they still represent the class members established in the original case. The District also made note of its current financial distress in this Response in opposition to the Law Center’s request.

History of Y.S. v. School District of Philadelphia

Compliance Issues (2001-2010)

The District’s long-standing failure to communicate with LEP parents resulted in another Stipulation in 2001. This Stipulation required that the District make parents aware of the new standards created by the suit and required translation and interpretation services be provided to parents in school notices and at school meetings.

Failure to provide parents with appropriate communication services continued to plague the District. In 2010 a Stipulation Amendment was reached that provided additional protections to parents such as annual notification of the availability of translation and interpretation services, translation of written documents, provision of interpreters for school meetings and additional language services for a range of communications from IEP meetings to translated report cards.

Parents who have not received these types of language services are encouraged to contact the Law Center at skerr@pilcop.org.

Court Makes Finding of Non-Compliance & Stipulations (1991 – 2000)

In 1991 the Plaintiffs filed a Motion for a Finding of Noncompliance which the court later partially granted. For the next two years, a magistrate judge held regular meetings with the District and plaintiffs to supervise compliance. In 1993 those meetings resulted in addition of a Stipulation to the original plan, which established broad standards for the district in areas such as increased language instruction and additional hiring of bilingual personnel. This Stipulation also created the standard that parents receive notice of all school-related matters in their native language.

When the District failed to comply with annual reporting requirements in subsequent years, the Plaintiffs filed a Motion for Enforcement that granted continued judicial supervision.

Original Settlement & Remedial Plans (1985 – 1991)

The original suit, Y.S. v. School District of Philadelphia, was filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in December of 1985 on behalf of an estimated 8,000 Asian students and their parents.

An Interim Remedial Agreement was reached in 1988 and the District accepted that it needed to provide students and parents increased language services. A long-term plan was approved in 1989 that mandated numerous solutions including a welcome center for testing and placement of new students, new classroom instructional models and availability of interpreters for all parent communications, meetings and other school activities.

In the years that followed, the Education Law Center monitored the District’s programs only to find that significant strides were not being met. Bilingual staff were not being hired, LEP students were not receiving appropriate placements and only a few schools had strong language services programs in place.

Redistricting Plan Accepted by Supreme Court

Barb Macholz — Thu, 16 May 2013 17:36:27 +0000

Almost two million residents have been spared from unnecessary legislative subdivision by the Law Center’s work with Hogan Lovells and petitioner Amanda Holt. In May 2013, the Supreme Court accepted LRC’s second redistricting proposal which will go into effect in the 2014 election cycle. The Court’s decision will keep 1.9 million residents from being split into unnecessarily subdivided legislative districts as proposed in the LRC’s original map. For more background information on this case, click here.

Although the Court favored the LRC’s revised plan over petitioner Amanda Holt’s revised plan, in making its ruling the Court upheld the right of citizens to submit alternative plans and appeal future LRC proposals. Additionally, the Court protected consideration of citizen submissions by ruling that future LRC plans will not simply be deferred to in determining appropriate redistricting. Finally the Court’s decision noted that LRC’s responsibility to follow the constitutional obligation to protect the integrity of legislative districts outweighs the Commission’s need to maintain political balance or “continuity of representation” in devising new maps.

Click here to read the Supreme Court’s final redistricting opinion.

Pennsylvania Bar Institute CLE on Autism

Barb Macholz — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:37:40 +0000

Sonja Kerr, the Law Center’s director of disability rights, will present at the Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s June CLE series on Autism.

Three daylong programs are being held across the state to educate lawyers, parents, advocates, social workers and school district administrators about the legal resources that are available to communities and families living with autism. Six substantive CLE credits are available for attorneys.

For dates and registration information, click here to head to the Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s website.

Court Orders Release of Data in Voter ID Case

Barb Macholz — Wed, 08 May 2013 20:01:16 +0000

Judge Simpson issued a decision in April 2013 ordering the Department of State and Department of Transportation to release data that will allow the Law Center and its partners to better estimate the number of individuals who are currently without proper identification and would potentially be disenfranchised by the voter identification law. This decision comes after denial of numerous prior requests. Together with the ACLU, the Advancement Project and Arnold & Porter LLP, we will use this data as we prepare to litigate for a permanent injunction of the law at trial this July. You can read the Court’s Discovery Order here.

New Report Shows Movement Toward More Equitable Hiring Practices

Barb Macholz — Wed, 08 May 2013 19:05:07 +0000

A report out from the National Employment Law Project shows that 43 municipalities, from major cities to counties, have moved to “ban the box” and implement better standards for more limited background check use in the hiring process. This guide was developed to connect organizations and communities in locations where current practices perpetuate employment barriers with individuals, organizations and campaigns that have successfully improved local employment practices. Philadelphia is noted in the report as being the first city that banned the box both publicly and privately.

Read the report here: “Ban the Box: Major U.S. Cities and Counties Adopt Fair Hiring Policies to Remove Unfair Barriers to Employment of People with Criminal Records“

Office of Open Records Grants Appeal Request

Barb Macholz — Wed, 08 May 2013 18:39:39 +0000

In our Right to Know case regarding payment rates Medicaid insurers pay to dentists and dental subcontractors, the Office of Open Records (OOR) granted our appeal in full noting that the rates of payment to dental subcontractors and dentists does not fall under the protection of trade secret or confidentiality regulations. OOR’s decision indicates that the Department of Public Welfare must disclose all requested documents within 30 days of the May 7th decision. You can read the full decision by clicking here or read more about this case by clicking here.

Chief Justice Castille and Civil Legal Justice Coalition Members to Speak at Public Hearing

Barb Macholz — Wed, 08 May 2013 13:49:33 +0000

Join us for a Senate Judiciary Committee public hearing on May 23rd in Philadelphia on the need for increased civil legal services for low-income individuals.

This hearing on Civil Legal Representation of the Indigent is being convened by the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Civil Legal Justice Coalition, a group of legal service organizations, bar associations and judicial leaders who are working to raise public awareness about the need for increasing civil legal services. Chief Justice Castille is the honorary chair of the Civil Legal Justice Coalition, which is co-chaired by the Law Center’s executive director Jenny Clarke and Sam Milkes, executive director of the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Stewart Greenleaf will lead the upcoming hearing. Click here to read the full press release.

Join us on Thursday, May 23rd at 9:30 a.m. at the Philadelphia Bar Association, 1101 Market Street, in the 11th floor conference room. Clients, advocates, business leaders, professionals and judges will testify on the current crisis facing the justice system: an estimated 80% of civil legal needs of low-income individuals cannot be met because of continued funding cuts and lack of systemic support for civil legal services.

Additional hearings are being scheduled around the state. A previous hearing was held on May 7th in Harrisburg. You can view video footage of the first hearing in Harrisburg here or read testimony from the first hearing here.

Family Leadership for Inclusive Education in Non-Traditional Schools Webinars

Barb Macholz — Tue, 07 May 2013 21:20:05 +0000

The Institute on Disabilities at Temple University is hosting a series of webinars to help parents create a blueprint for inclusive, special education services for students in cyber, charter, parochial and other non-public, non-traditional schools. All of the information on these webinars can be found here.

Amy Laura Cahn to Speak at EPA’s Beyond Translation Conference

Barb Macholz — Tue, 07 May 2013 17:13:06 +0000

This year’s May 16th conference will focus on “Taking Back Our Place by Greening Our Space.”

Amy Laura Cahn, director of the Law Center’s Garden Justice Legal Initiative, will speak as part of a panel in a 3:00pm workshop entitled, “Green Space is Safe Space.” Amy Laura will provide an overview of barriers to vacant land and information on navigating those barriers to access land for gardens, urban farms and community green space.

Click here for more information about the Beyond Translation Initiative, and to register for the event.

Click here to view the flier for Taking Back our Place by Greening Our Space.