Justice Department Secures Agreement Reforming Alabama’s System for Educating Students with Disabilities in Foster Care

Today, the Justice Department announced that it reached a landmark agreement with the State of Alabama to address allegations of discrimination against children in foster care with disabilities, in violation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This first-of-its-kind agreement ensures that young Alabamians in or transitioning out of the foster care system have the tools they need to be successful as adults and advances the commitment of this Administration to foster children and families set forth in President Donald J. Trump's Executive Order 14359, entitled, "Fostering the Future for American Children and Families."

"Children in foster care should not be treated differently because of their circumstances," said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "We applaud Alabama for reaching this agreement so that all students may benefit from an education that equips them for a promising future."

The settlement agreement requires that students with disabilities in foster care who are placed in psychiatric residential treatment facilities (PRTFs) attend school in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs and that students educated on site at PRTFs are provided with equal educational opportunities.

Additional information about the Civil Rights Division is available on its website at https://www.justice.gov/crt, and additional information about the Civil Rights Division's Educational Opportunities Section's work to combat disability discrimination is available at https://www.justice.gov/crt/educational-opportunities-section.

Members of the public may report possible civil rights violations at https://www.civilrights.justice.gov/.