nola.com

The parents of a 9-year-old boy with profound disabilities have sued a selective charter school in New Orleans, claiming that the school’s use of an admissions test violates legal protections for students with disabilities. In a lawsuit filed this week in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Chris and Cristina Edmunds argue that the Willow School’s entrance exam excludes students with disabilities — including their son Oscar — from moving forward in the application process. As a result, they argue, the process violates state and federal protections for people with disabilities, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Louisiana Human Rights Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the federal law that gives students with disabilities the right to a free and appropriate public education. The Willow School, whose mission is to provide a rigorous education to academically gifted students, is one of several New Orleans charter schools that require prospective students to earn a certain score on a reading and math test.