If you have a question or concern about special education law, school administration, federal standards, or the overall rights of a student, please feel free to call the expert education law attorneys at Maya Murphy, P.C. in Westport today at (203) 221-3100 .

Connecticut's disability rights agency says the state is cutting off school a year too soon for some special education students.

The Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities filed a federal class action July 15 against the state board of education, alleging that it is treating disabled students differently from their peers by terminating education services at age 21.

General education students can obtain their high school diplomas via adult classes at any age. The federal Individuals with Disabilities Act requires that schools provide the same opportunities to special education students at least until their 22nd birthday, the suit contends.

"My son deserves to have education until he turns 22 just like the federal law says he should," said the mother of the named plaintiff, identified by his initials D.J., in a news release from the office.

D.J. had been enrolled at the Hartford Public High School Law and Government Academy. His IQ measured at 59, which is "mildly impaired or delayed," according to the suit. D.J.'s schooling ended June 8, about a week after his 21st birthday.

He has not yet received his diploma, and would benefit from another year of a structured environment for developing academic and prevocational skills, says the complaint signed by Nancy Alisberg of the Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities.

"Transition services are critically important for young adults with disabilities," Alisberg said, "and if the schools are required to provide those services until the student turns 22, then the courts must enforce the law to ensure that they do."

Schneider Wallace Cottrell Konecky Wotkyns of California and the Law Offices of Sonja Deyoe in Rhode Island also represent D.J. The suit seeks class status for any special education student who turned 21 within two years before the suit was filed, or who turns 21 during the course of the lawsuit.

Abbe Smith, a spokesperson for the state Department of Education, deferred comment on the litigation to the Attorney General's office.

Jaclyn M. Falkowski, director of communications with the Office of the Attorney General, said, "We will review the complaint and respond at the appropriate time in court. We would decline further comment at this time."

Under Connecticut law, a school district's obligation to provide special education ends when a student graduates from high school "or reaches age 21, whichever occurs first."

The plaintiffs say that is inconsistent with the federal IDEA law, which requires free and appropriate public education for all children with disabilities "between the ages of 3 and 21, inclusive." That means until their 22nd birthday, the plaintiffs say. States may limit age eligibility, but only to the extent it is limited for public education generally, the suit contends.

"There is no Connecticut law or regulation that imposes an age limitation of 21 on the entitlement to public education generally," the suit states, pointing to free high school equivalency programs for adults.

D.J. v. Connecticut State Board of Education is not the first suit of its kind. The complaint refers to a 2013 decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that upheld a similar challenge in Hawaii, and another suit has been filed in Rhode Island.

In the Ninth Circuit case, Judge Dorothy Nelson wrote that while the IDEA's text is "not completely pellucid," the legislative history made clear that Hawaii "cannot deny special education to disabled students aged 18 through 21 if it in fact provides 'free public education' to nondisabled students in that range of ages."

If you have a child with a disability and have questions about special education law, please contact Joseph C. Maya, Esq., at 203-221-3100, or at JMaya@mayalaw.com, to schedule a free consultation.

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Source- Megan Spicer, Special Ed Students Being Shortchanged a Year, Suit Says, 42 Conn. Law Tribune 30, July 25, 2016, at 22.