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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 21, 2007 CONTACT: David Carlson , Assoc. Dir. of Legal Advocacy (206) 324-1521 DSHS and School District Attempt to Re-Segregate Students with Developmental Disabilities Decision major step backwards: Forces students with disabilities out of local schools SEATTLE – Parents of children with developmental disabilities filed a lawsuit today, to stop plans to remove their children from public school. The Bremerton School District confirmed that the Department of Social and Health Services’(DSHS) Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) intends to remove from local schools all students living in Francis Haddon Morgan Center (FHMC), a state-run institution for people with developmental disabilities. The school district plans to provide segregated educational services to these students at the institution, instead of in a public school. As part of the lawsuit, the parents, who are represented by a nonprofit watchdog group called Disability Rights Washington (DRW), have filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in the Thurston County Superior Court.   The motion asserts the move violates both state and federal law and that the move, even if temporary, will cause irreparable harm to the students. “The Washington Constitution – as well as the federal constitution and anti-discrimination and education laws – all make it very clear that segregation of children with disabilities in this way is illegal,” said Regan Bailey, Director of Legal Advocacy for DRW. Up to now school-aged residents of FHMC have received their education within the local school district. The preliminary injunction, if granted, would allow the students to remain in their community-based schools and prevent the State and school district from segregating students, while the merits of the lawsuit are decided. The lawsuit names the Bremerton School District, DSHS, and Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) as defendants. “Each defendant has a specific but different role to assure each student receives a free, appropriate public education, in the least restrictive environment. Instead of working together to accomplish that goal the defendants are in a dispute over responsibility at the expense of the students,” said DRW Executive Director Mark Stroh Cecile Lindquist, speaking for the Education for All Committee said, “The school district’s action is a tragic regression to when local school districts refused to serve and discriminated against children with disabilities living within their districts.   It is unconscionable that this is happening in the very state where the nation’s first mandatory special education law was enacted years before the federal Education for All Act  of 1975. The school district’s decision is in direct conflict with decades of established law and real-world practice of including all children in the public schools.”   “Everyone should have the chance to be educated in a non-segregated environment,” said John Lemus, self-advocate and club trainer for Self-Advocacy in Motion. “School doesn't work if you aren't around your peers. People miss the social interaction and they lose out.  I think this is a huge step backwards. I think the Governor needs to step up and do something about this. It's like we're going back to segregated schools, like when it wasn't okay for black and white people to go to school together. Now they are saying that students with disabilities can't be in school anymore. It gives in to the stigma that's already in place for these kids.” # # # Disability Rights Washington (DRW) is a private non-profit organization that protects the rights of people with disabilities statewide. The mission of DRW is to advance the dignity, equality, and self-determination of people with disabilities. DRW works to pursue justice on matters related to human and legal rights. The following individuals have expressed a willingness to respond to inquiries from the press. Inclusion on this list is not necessarily an endorsement of the lawsuit.   George Adams, Chair of the Self Advocate in Leadership Coalition, Bremerton, 360-421-9208 Sue Elliot, Executive Director of the Arc of Washington, Olympia, 360-357-5596 Ed Holen, Executive Director of the Developmental Disabilities Council, Olympia, 800-634-4473 Christie Perkins, Public Policy Chair of the Special Education Coalition, Tacoma, 253-588-0637

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