DRLC has filed a lawsuit against the Riverside Unified School District for using "unconscionable contracts of adhesion" to deny a student with a disability, and her parents, their rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and state laws. The student is a thirteen-year-old girl who has severe language and social behavior impairments. She also has a visual perceptual deficit and has been diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum.

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The girl's mother did not believe her daughter was adequately prepared to begin seventh grade. School officials presented the mother with a "confidential settlement agreement" that, if signed, would allow her daughter to remain in sixth grade at Taft Elementary School. The girl's mother believed the document was an informal agreement about her daughter's enrollment in sixth grade and she did not understand that by signing this document her daughter would be precluded from requesting any changes to her educational program or exercising her due process rights. Officials told the mother she had until 5 p.m. to sign the offer on the day it was presented or the offer to remain in sixth grade would be revoked. Without a lawyer present to advice her, and afraid that her daughter would be denied a necessary placement, the mother signed the paper.

Later in the school year, when the mother requested additional special education for her daughter, the district denied the request, referring to the agreement she had previously signed. This week, a federal district court judge agreed with all of the DRLC's arguments, and our opposition to the defendants' motion to dismiss was approved. The case is Y.G. et al v. Riverside Unified School District et al GO08-05 (CV-52).

To better serve residents of Orange County, John Longoria, Outreach Coordinator, and Maggie Hui, Outreach Coordinator Maggie Hui, will hold office hours on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Dayle McIntosh Center in Garden Grove. That means this month we will host office hours at the center on March 9 and March 23. Come meet our staff and learn about laws protecting the civil rights of those with disabilities, and services available them, including health care, special education, government services and more. For more information or to schedule an appointment, contact Maggie Hui at (213) 736-1408 or Maggie.hui@lls.edu. Video TDD (213) 736-8310; Video Relay Number (866) 912-8193. The Dayle McIntosh Center is located at 13272 Garden Grove Boulevard, Garden Grove, CA 92843-2205.