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L.V. v. Department of Education Pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and New York State law, the New York City Department of Education (DOE) is required to maintain a due process hearing system whereby parents are able to challenge the actions of the Department of Education in providing special education services to their children with disabilities. In the LV case, parents of children with disabilities filed suit claiming, among other things, that they had received favorable orders and settlements in impartial hearings that were not being timely enforced. The parents also claimed that the DOE does not maintain an adequate due process system and does not track and monitor enforcement of the orders. Milbank Tweed Hadley and McCloy and AFC are co-counsel. The case was filed in federal court in the Southern District of New York before the Honorable Richard J. Holwell. In September 2005, Judge Holwell granted Plaintiff's motion for class certification and appointed AFC and Milbank as Class Counsel. In December 2007, AFC and Milbank, on behalf of Lead Plaintiffs and the Class, entered into a settlement agreement with the DOE. The Settlement was preliminarily approved by Judge Holwell on December 27, 2007. At the Settlement Fairness Hearing held on April 10, 2008, Judge Holwell granted final approval of the Settlement. The Settlement requires the DOE to meet a series of benchmarks for full and timely implementation of Impartial Hearing Orders in order to be released from the agreement. An Independent Auditor will decide whether or not DOE has met the required benchmark. If the DOE fails to comply with a benchmark, the DOE must implement a Corrective Action Plan. If the DOE still fails to meet the requirements after following the Corrective Action Plan, then the parties will appear before the Court to determine an appropriate course of action. The Settlement also provides compensatory relief to people who received an impartial hearing order on or after December 13, 2000 and on or before January 31, 2008. If the DOE failed to fully and timely implement an order, the Settlement may provide (i) the payment required by the impartial hearing order, (ii) repayment for education expenses an individual paid because the DOE failed to follow the order, and/or (iii) a voucher for up to $8,000 (or, $15,000 in special circumstances) in educational services. Claims under the settlement must be postmarked by June 30, 2008. The Settlement Notice and Claim Forms may be obtained at http://www.hearingordersettlement.com. Selected Documents: L.V. v. Department of Education Complaint - December 12, 2003 L.V. v. Department of Education First Amended Complaint - January 13, 2004 L.V. v. Department of Education Second Amended Complaint - April 15, 2004 Plaintiffs' Memorandum in Support of Plaintiffs' Motion for Class Certification - February 4, 2004 Plaintiffs' Memorandum in Support of Plaintiffs' Renewed Motion for Class Certification - October 22, 2004 Class Certification Decision - September 15, 2005 Stipulation of Settlement - December 11, 2007 Order Preliminarily Approving the Settlement - December 27, 2007 Final Approval Order - April 10, 2008