CURRENT CIVIL RIGHTS CAses
Our firm is litigating lawsuits seeking systemic reforms on behalf of children and young adults with disabilities being deprived of a free appropriate public education, persons with disabilities in nursing facilities, and Medicaid recipients.
Contact Patrick Sheldon at 202-204-8469 or psheldon@tpmlaw.com if you have a potential case or questions regarding TPM’s civil rights practice.
CLASI v. Delaware Adult and Prison Education Resources Workgroup
Case filed on behalf of the Community Legal Aid Society, Inc. (CLASI), which is Delaware’s Protection and Advocacy System (P&A), challenging the long-standing failures of the Delaware Department of Education (DDOE), and its Adult and Prison Education Resources Workgroup (APER), to provide special education services to incarcerated students with disabilities aged 18-22. The claims are brought under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Delaware law.
Charles H. v. District of Columbia
Class action filed in April 2021 challenging the District of Columbia’s failure to provide special education services and a free and appropriate public education to students with disabilities at the DC Jail during the COVID-19 pandemic. After the District of Columbia was enjoined by the federal court to comply with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for these students, and found in contempt for failing to comply, the case settled in an agreement that was approved by the court in January 2024.
Brown v. District of Columbia
Class action filed in December 2010 challenging the District of Columbia’s failure adequately to assist Medicaid beneficiaries living in nursing facilities to transition to the community where they can live less restricted lives in violation of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act, as interpreted by the Supreme Court in Olmstead v. LC ex rel. Zimring, 527 U.S. 581 (1999).
B.R. v. District of Columbia (formerly known as N.B. v. District of Columbia)
Putative class action filed in September 2010 challenging the District of Columbia’s systemic failure to provide timely and adequate individualized written notice to persons whose prescriptions are denied Medicaid payment at the pharmacy.
D.L. v. District of Columbia
Class action filed in July 2005 challenging the District of Columbia’s systemic failure to provide, and failure timely to provide, special education and related services to three-to-five-year-old children.
Class action filed in March 1993 challenging the District of Columbia’s failure to implement the Medicaid program in accordance with federal law and the Constitution. DC Medicaid recipients may obtain free legal assistance from our law firm for certain Medicaid problems: recertifying for Medicaid, obtaining reimbursement if they pay out-of-pocket or are billed for expenses that should have been covered by Medicaid, and obtaining services for any child receiving Medicaid up to the age of 21.