COPAA filed an amicus brief in the D.C. Circuit in In Re: District of Columbia. The brief urges the court to affirm the decision of the United States District Court. The amicus brief is here. COPAA Amicus Committee Co-chairs Ellen M. Saideman and COPAA Legal Director Selene

Almazan wrote the brief.

This brief was written in support of the class members in D.C. The District’s widespread failure to provide safe and reliable transportation to school has dire consequences. To start, it means that students with disabilities in the District cannot access FAPE when they cannot get to school. But that is just the beginning. Failing to comply with the IDEA, ADA, and Section 504’s
requirements can change the life trajectory of the most at-risk students. That includes diverting children from potential success to a cycle of poverty and recidivism. As the district court properly found, the District’s transportation failures are not merely individual, but are class wide. The district court did not abuse its discretion when it certified the class. The District of
Columbia appealed that decision to the D.C. Circuit appellate court.

COPAA was joined by The Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law (Bazelon Center), The National Center for Youth Law (NCYL) and The National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) as fellow amici.