Facts

On May 2, 2017, four students with certain reading disorders, including dyslexia, filed a class action lawsuit against Berkeley Unified School District, its superintendent, individual directors of the Board of Education and the Board of Education of the Berkeley Unified School District.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS: Plaintiffs contended that defendants systemically declined to identify, evaluate and provide appropriate interventions and accommodations to students with reading disorders in a timely manner so that they would have the necessary tools required to process information and attain what is the foundational unit of all education: learning to read. This failure to provide legally-mandated services to schoolchildren with suspected disabilities and disabilities due to reading disorders, led to those children not being able to fully participate in their education as their nondisabled peers, throughout their years in the District, as was their right under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and California Education Code Sections 56000.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS: Defendants denied all contentions, noting that they followed applicable laws and regulations.

Result

The settlement requires Berkeley Unified School District to work with nationally recognized outside consultants to develop and implement a Literacy Improvement Plan to improve reading and language arts achievement for all students, especially those with or at risk for reading disabilities, including, among others: providing professional development for all staff and administrators; identifying students at risk for reading disabilities through universal screening; using universal screening to inform early intervention; monitoring implementation with reports to the school board; and paying $350,000 in attorney fees.