Litigation

J.G. v. Mills

AFC, The Legal Aid Society of New York and Dewey Ballantine LLP filed a class action suit on behalf of a class of students aged 7-21 who had a history of involvement with the juvenile or adult court systems and who were entitled to an education in New York City schools. The plaintiffs in this action claimed that upon being released from a court-ordered setting, they had been denied timely re-enrollment in New York City schools. The students claimed that court-involved youth were regularly denied the opportunity to return to school or were warehoused in alternative settings where they were segregated and adequate educational services were not provided. The complaint also contained allegations on behalf of two subclasses: court-involved youth with disabilities and class members who did not receive adequate educational services while in detention in New York City.

On October 3, 2008, the court approved a settlement agreement between the plaintiffs and the state defendant, Richard Mills, Commissioner of the New York State Education Department.  After settling with the state in 2008, AFC and The Legal Aid Society reached a full settlement with New York City in April of 2011. In the settlement, the DOE agreed to make sure that all students returning from placements in the juvenile justice system will be promptly enrolled in school after they come back to New York City. For school-aged students who were not returned to school in a timely manner during the course of this lawsuit, the settlement provides compensatory relief. In addition, during the term of the settlement, the DOE will produce three monitoring reports to be shared with AFC and our co-counsel, The Legal Aid Society. 

Associated Documents:

Students’ Rights under the “J. G.” Settlement

J.G. v. Mills Complaint - December 14, 2004

First Amended Complaint - February 4, 2005

Second Amended Complaint - February 8, 2005

Stipulation of Settlement

Notice of Settlement (short description)

Notice of Settlement (long description)