A federal judge has reversed a previous administrative ruling and ordered Galesburg District 205 to keep a student with disabilities in the Galesburg school system instead of a school in Peoria.
The judgment, filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, ruled in favor of a lawsuit filed by the child’s parents.
WGIL reported on Oct. 11 that attorneys representing Galesburg school board member Pamella Bess-Tabb and her husband filed a federal lawsuit against District 205 and the Illinois State Board of Education, claiming they failed to guarantee their child an appropriate education as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
According to court documents, the parents initiated the lawsuit to enforce their child’s “right to attend school along with children who do not have disabilities, and with appropriate supports and services.”
The case contended District 205 was in error when it adopted an Individualized Education Program (IEP) to send the student to a school for children with disabilities located in Peoria.
Following a March–April 2024 hearing, an impartial hearing officer ruled that the District had met its obligations under IDEA, affirming that High Road in Peoria, or a similar therapeutic setting, was appropriate based on the student’s needs and ongoing behavioral challenges.
The Court held a bench trial on Oct. 21.
In his ruling filed filed Friday, U.S. District Judge Jonathan E. Hawley concluded:
“that the Parents have shown, by the preponderance of the evidence, that removing (the student to the Peoria school) is less restrictive than necessary and therefore violated (the student’s) right to receive a free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment under the IDEA.
“Instead, it is likely that (the student) can receive a satisfactory education in his EBD classroom at Silas Willard Elementary with additional interventions, including at least a 1:1 paraprofessional. The Court leaves it to the IEP team to properly consider other additional interventions necessary to ensure a satisfactory education for (the student) at Silas Willard Elementary.”
When reached Monday for comment, Bess-Tabb told WGIL, “Not right now, but when it’s appropriate, I’ll definitely reach out.”
Following a March–April 2024 hearing, an impartial hearing officer ruled that the District had met its obligations under IDEA, affirming that High Road in Peoria, or a similar therapeutic setting, was appropriate based on the student’s needs and ongoing behavioral challenges.
In Friday’s final ruling, the Court said it found District 205’s IEP is unreasonable in failing to properly consider whether additional interventions could help provide the student with a free and appropriate public education at Silas Willard Elementary in accordance with the IDEA’s mainstreaming requirement. The administrative ruling itself also failed to properly consider this issue, according to the Court.
District 205 Superintendent of Schools John Asplund said he was “disappointed” in the court’s ruling, adding “but we will support it.”
“We will continue to support the judge’s ruling should we appeal, and we will continue to do our best to support any and all students and staff in that program, and all district programs,” Asplund said.
Asplund said the board will dicuss the ruling and whether the district will appeal the decision in executive session at Monday’s District 205 Board of Education meeting.
