A new lawsuit claims Illinois has been violating state and federal law for nearly two decades by failing to provide special education services to young people locked up in adult prisons.
The federal lawsuit against the Illinois Department of Corrections, the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice and the Illinois State Board of Education was filed at the end of last month. On Wednesday, plaintiffs filed a motion seeking to make the case a class action lawsuit, as well as a motion for a preliminary injunction forcing the state to provide class members with special education. Attorneys estimate the suit could affect hundreds of individuals currently in custody.
The lawsuit was filed by Equip for Equality, a nonprofit advocating for the civil rights of individuals with disabilities, and Latham & Watkins. It covers those who were 22 or younger when they were first incarcerated and who had a plan outlining special education services from their previous school.
The complaint states that the correctional agencies have failed to identify eligible students; notify eligible students of their right to these educational services; or provide any special education services and high school credit-bearing courses.
“These violations are the result of a widespread failure to attend to the educational welfare and needs of students with disabilities who have not yet earned their high school diploma,” the complaint reads.
A spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Corrections declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.
Plaintiff Exodus Hebert, now 23, was 20 years old when he was admitted to the Illinois Department of Corrections. He had received special education while in the custody of the juvenile system but was unable to access those same services in the adult system, he wrote in an email.
“I really need this special education so I can finally get my high school diploma,” he wrote. “It’s very hard to understand schooling with the disability I have.”
Hebert wants to show his family he did something great and also demonstrate to others who struggle with education that it’s still possible to achieve something. “I enjoyed school. It was just so hard but when I did understand it, it meant the world to me,” he said.
“There is no system”
In Illinois, correctional agencies must provide special education services and access to high school education to students with disabilities who are in the custody of adult correctional facilities through the end of the school year in which they turn 22. Federal law also requires states to provide special education services to eligible incarcerated students with disabilities.
In 2006, the Illinois legislature made the state juvenile justice department responsible for providing special education services and access to a high school education to young people in adult facilities. But since the law passed, there have been no special education services provided nor any high school education for students in adult facilities who might be eligible, said Olga Pribyl, vice president of the Special Education Clinic at Equip for Equality. The Illinois Department of Corrections currently lacks any process to identify or notify eligible students upon their entry to the system, she added.
The students are entirely dependent upon the corrections department to provide access to education and services, and unlike students in the community they cannot enroll in another high school, or access equivalent educational resources elsewhere, the lawsuit states.
The agencies’ failure to provide access to special education services means that eligible young people with disabilities have been unable to earn a GED or high school diploma, which is required to access vocational courses or other higher education, according to the lawsuit. In addition, it excludes them from earning time off their sentences for participating in educational programs, Pribyl said.
Research shows that access to education and training increases someone’s ability to find a job upon release and decreases their likelihood of returning to prison.
In August, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a statement of interest in a similar lawsuit in Delaware, affirming that state agencies can’t avoid their responsibilities to students with disabilities.
The lawsuit is the first step towards ensuring that the corrections agencies comply with their legal obligation to provide these critical services to youth incarcerated in Illinois, Johanna Spellman, a partner at Latham & Williams, said in a statement.
The Justice Department also noted that incarcerated youth and young adults have a disproportionately high prevalence of disabilities compared to the general student population, estimating that 30% to 80% of children and young adults in correctional facilities have disabilities versus approximately 13% of students with disabilities in public schools.
The Illinois Department of Corrections only tracks the numbers of individuals with physical disabilities in their custody, not those who qualify for special education. But around half of students attending school in the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice received special education.
In addition to getting the plaintiffs access to education and services, the goal of the lawsuit is to establish systems to identify and notify eligible students of their rights upon entry, and implement special education and high school programs in adult prisons, Pribyl said.
“It’s not about improving the system,” she said. “Right now, there is no system.”
In August, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a law that would allow IDOC to transfer 18- to 21-year-olds who qualify for high school educational services to a juvenile facility. That would allow them to participate in developmentally appropriate educational services as well as other services such as individual or group therapy, case management, vocational training, and higher education. A spokesperson for the Department of Juvenile Justice confirmed youth transferred to the new facility will be able to receive special education services there.
“Research consistently shows that young adults have a remarkable capacity for transformation, yet they often lack access to the specialized services needed to realize that potential,” Latoya Hughes, acting director of IDOC, said in a statement.
A pilot program of approximately 20 students is anticipated to begin in spring 2025 at the juvenile Harrisburg facility.
Two of the plaintiffs named in the federal complaint filed in August had individual hearings earlier this spring, with decisions affirming their right to special education services. As of mid-September, no special education special education services have been provided to the two students nor had they been offered spots in the juvenile justice pilot program, Pribyl said.
She said it shows that even when individual students win their cases, the system still fails to provide the required support services.
“They’ve had months to try to come up with a game plan, but they haven’t done anything,” Pribyl said.
Charlotte West is a reporter covering the future of post-secondary education in prisons for Open Campus, a nonprofit newsroom focused on higher education. Sign up for her newsletter, College Inside.