Kennedy Hunt P.C. recently filed a disability discrimination lawsuit against Cahokia Unit School District #187 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, alleging that the public school district violated the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans With Disabilities Act, and the Illinois Human Rights Act.
According to the lawsuit, the school district discriminated against our client, a six-year-old boy with speech and/or language impairment and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, by revoking his speech-language services without notice to his parents or changing his IEP, thus causing the child significant delays and regression.
The lawsuit alleges the following:
In May 2023, the school district determined that our client, R.W.H., was eligible for special education services. His younger sister, R.E.H., also has speech and/or language impairment, and the district deemed her eligible for special education services in April 2024.
On May 1, 2023, the district and parents participated in an IEP meeting, during which it was determined that R.W.H. would receive 20 minutes of speech/language services per week. The IEP also placed R.W.H. in the Pre-K general education program for at least 80% of the time.
The following year, on April 17, 2024, the district revised R.W.H.’s IEP to increase speech/language services to 30 minutes per week. The revised IEP states R.W.H. needs speech therapy because his deficits hinder his ability to communicate at school. One month later, in May 2024, school board meeting minutes highlight the district’s need to hire new speech therapists given the vacancies.
On August 21, 2024, R.W.H.’s first day of kindergarten, the district unilaterally ceased providing speech-language services without notice to his parents or amending his IEP.
According to the lawsuit, the district failed to reasonably accommodate R.W.H.’s disability when it revoked speech-language services, thus denying him meaningful and equal access to educational programs and services. Due to his disabilities, the school district is required under law to provide our client with reasonable accommodations, including speech therapy.
The lawsuit alleges R.W.H.’s parents repeatedly tried to contact the school district over the termination of speech services, but were denied at least once and never received a response via email from the school district superintendent. The lawsuit states that on November 8, 2024, the parents filed a due process complaint with the Illinois State Board of Education (“ISBE”) on behalf of their children.
On November 15, 2024, the parents received a letter from the district, informing them for the first time that District 187 had “staffing shortages” that resulted in the cessation of speech therapy services.
The lawsuit alleges that the district told the parents that R.W.H. and R.E.H. would receive speech therapy services starting on the weeks of December 10, 2024, and January 6, 2025, but services were not initiated in either instance.
The lawsuit states that on January 21, 2025, the district started virtual therapy services for R.W.H. for 60 minutes per week. The district allegedly did not amend R.W.H.’s IEP to reflect the proposed change in services and did not provide the parents with prior written notice.
The lawsuit continues:
District 187’s unilateral decision denied Parents the opportunity to participate in important decisions regarding R.W.H.’s education and IEP and to provide the District with information to demonstrate that sixty (60) minutes of virtual speech-language instruction weekly was insufficient to address R.W.H.’s regression, which was caused by the District’s termination of services twenty-one weeks earlier. District 187’s actions caused a deprivation of educational benefits to R.W.H.
According to the lawsuit, the Illinois State Board of Education appointed an independent hearing officer to conduct a due process hearing on March 20, 2025. The independent hearing officer found the district failed to provide services to R.W.H. from August 21, 2024, through January 21, 2025, but failed to find that the District’s failure to implement the April 17, 2024, IEP was unjustified as it was not based on any individualized consideration of R.W.H.’s needs. The lawsuit seeks a reversal of the hearing decision made by the Illinois State Board of Education.
The lawsuit alleges District 187 has acted under the color of state law and engaged in the discriminatory and illegal practices described herein deliberately and with deliberate indifference to R.W.H.’s rights. As a direct and proximate result of District 187’s conduct, R.W.H. suffered damage, injuries, pain and suffering, inconvenience, emotional distress, and impairment of the quality of life.
The lawsuit seeks damages caused by Defendant’s civil rights violations, including compensatory and punitive damages, emotional pain and suffering, and other nonmonetary losses that may be determined by a jury or a court sitting without a jury, but in no case less than $4,000.00.
This case is ongoing. For more information, contact managing partner Sarah Jane Hunt at sarahjane@kennedyhuntlaw.com.