Court Grants Class Certification and Finds That DC Students with Disabilities Incarcerated in the BOP Can Continue Their Fight for Education 04.08.25

For decades, DC adult students with disabilities serving a sentence in the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) have been deprived of their education. On Friday, March 28, a federal judge granted the students class certification and cleared the way for DC students incarcerated in the BOP to pursue their lawsuit seeking access to special education and related services while they are incarcerated in the BOP. In Judge Royce C. Lamberth’s decision on the District of Columbia’s and BOP’s attempt to dismiss the case, he declared that “…the thrust of defendants’ arguments indicates a complete abdication of the responsibility that each one owes to the plaintiffs.”

Since 2001, the District of Columbia has not maintained a local prison for individuals serving sentences for felony convictions under the DC Criminal Code. Instead, DC relies on the BOP to incarcerate its citizens. This means these students are placed at BOP facilities throughout the country, often far from their homes, families, and communities. While DC students with disabilities who are transferred to BOP facilities are entitled to special education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the District and the BOP have, for decades, failed to provide these students with any of the education to which they are entitled.

In March 2024, two incarcerated students from DC filed a class action complaint alleging that the District is violating local and federal laws by depriving students of their access to special education. The complaint further alleges that the BOP has violated students’ right to due process by denying them their education while incarcerated without proper notice and hearing.

In its decision, the Court agreed that “incarceration should not have ended forever” the students’ “opportunity to achieve a high school degree.” The Court’s decision recognizes that the purpose of the IDEA is to prepare students with disabilities for further education, employment, and independent living, and that the IDEA is critical for incarcerated students such as the plaintiffs in this lawsuit. Rejecting DC’s argument that it has no authority over students in the BOP, the Court ruled that the IDEA imposes a continuing obligation on the District to ensure students with disabilities receive an education. The Court also ruled that the students adequately alleged a due process violation by the BOP. It concluded that the BOP’s GED program is not an acceptable alternative to special education and the chance to earn a high school diploma and that DC students have a right to special education that the BOP cannot summarily cut off.

The Court’s decision allows the students to bring their claims as a class action, enabling DC students who are, were, or will be incarcerated in the BOP to collectively seek relief.

With the Court’s ruling, incarcerated students from DC are one step closer to receiving an education, which can have a profoundly positive impact on their future outcomes. Educational access while incarcerated leads to later improvements in public safety and a greater likelihood of the formerly incarcerated person contributing to their community.

“The court’s decision affirms the rights of DC students with disabilities who are incarcerated in BOP to receive an education,” said Marja Plater, Senior Counsel at the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. “Our clients are committed to this fight for their education and the rights of other DC students facing similar circumstances.”

“This decision is an important step towards remedying the complete deprivation of special education that our students in BOP face,” said Tayo Belle, Deputy Director of School Justice Project. “We are now positioned to advocate for a system to deliver special education and related services and additional time for students to still receive special education and their high school diplomas.”

The plaintiffs are represented by the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, School Justice Project, and Nixon Peabody LLP. Defendants are the District of Columbia and Federal Bureau of Prisons.

You can view the decision and learn more about the case here.