Hi everyone,I thought I would share this court decision with everyone... see below and attached, originally sent from Joy Effron, former principal of Frances Blend and Program Coordinator for LAUSD's VI program.In short, Los Angeles Unified School District used to have a specialized school for the blind, Frances Blend, for elementary school children. In 2012, they shut it down, among many other specialized schools. A group of individuals filed a class action law suit, which was first found in favor of LAUSD due to a filing issue. In a 9th circuit court of appeals, the judge reversed the decision, a huge victory for our children and families. What comes of it is still to be determined. But, I thought that it was of interest to some of you. Cheryl Kamei-Hannan, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Coordinator of the Education Specialist Credential in Visual Impairment and Blindness Division of Special Education and Counseling Charter College of Education California State University, Los Angeles 5151 State University Drive Los Angeles, CA 90032 323-343-6297 [email protected] or [email protected] Date: Sat, 21 May 2016 22:15:42 +0000 From: [email protected] To: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Ruling: WE WON!!!!! I am sending this to people in the VI field, who are not associated with LAUSD. You probably know that the LAUSD closed Frances Blend School three years ago and most of the other special schools. The district moved more than 1,000 students, in violation of their IEPs, to general ed sites where very little supportive services have been provided (such as 45 minutes of braille instruction per month). I have been working closely with three amazing, pro bono attorneys and two other advocates for the past three years. We had filed a Motion to Intervene in U.S. District Court but Judge Lew of the U.S. District Court had ruled against the motion, stating that it was not filed in a timely fashion. As a result, an appeal was filed with the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals many, many months ago. That hearing was held February 12. We have all been very anxious to get this ruling. In the past three years, innumerable students and families have gone to due process and received non public school funding because appropriate placements for these students are no longer available in LAUSD. The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday on the appeal of the Motion to Intervene on behalf of students of moderately and severely disabled students in LAUSD, centered on the closure of Blend and other special schools. I am attaching the ruling, which not only reverses Judge Lew's ruling on timeliness but also grants the Motion to Intervene. This is going to result in significant changes for these students. Many people are asking me, "What does this mean? What will happen now/next?" I will attempt to answer that in a second e-mail as I want to make sure that everything I tell you is correct, to the best of my ability. I do encourage you to read the attached ruling.I think this may have much broader significance than Los Angeles. Best wishes to all!Joy