Parents speak on class action lawsuit against CCSD over special education

LAS VEGAS (KLAS)– An “unprecedented crisis” is what’s being highlighted in a class action lawsuit against the Clark County School District and the Nevada Department of Education over special needs students.

CCSD and the Department of Education are accused of violating federal law.

Families and their attorneys argue that it has been years of being let down in a 58-page complaint. In the suit, families in Clark County allege a “systemic failure” of Nevada’s education system pointing the blame specifically to CCSD.

“Something is being done!” was repeated by parents with children who have special needs on Wednesday during a news conference. Parents who have fought for what their kids deserve. Some parents told 8 News Now problems with the school district started in 2020.

“Last school year was very hard and as a parent, you pray that you’re doing everything right and your son is getting everything that they need,” Iva Lewis said.

Lewis’ son is autistic and she said he was not getting enough help at school. Other parents joined in and shared the same frustration as Caitlin Werlinger.

“The pandemic has been this imprisonment for our children, ‘oh well there’s just no services,” Werliner said.

Werlinger said her son started struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic and she had paid for her son to get evaluated for dyslexia.

These are services the parents are now demanding.

“Where are the sirens?” Anna Binder asked. She has been advocating for families with children with special needs across the valley for many years. Binder shared that she can’t work because she’s always waiting for a phone call from her kids’ schools.

“My son, he gets depressed after each individual because we have incidents that happen on a regular basis,” Melissa Rose said about the problems her son has faced at CCSD.

“Where are the sirens?” Binder asked. She has been advocating for families with children with special needs across the valley for many years.

Binder shared that she can’t work because she’s always waiting for a phone call from her kids’ schools.

“[It’s] scary, some of our children are nonverbal they can’t articulate what’s going on in class,” parent Heidi Lopez said.

“Nothing was being done,” Lewis said. The work is being done now.

A class action lawsuit, 58 pages against the CCSD and the Nevada Department of Education alleges a violation of federal law concerning special needs students. Nine families allege a systemic failure and 12 children are named in the suit by their initials. The lawsuit claims the school district and the Department of Education deprive those students of their right to a free public education.

It also highlights the inadequate provision of special education services, lack of proper evaluations and individualized education programs in Section 504 accommodation plans, failures to provide necessary behavioral and instructional supports, the lack of training, and inappropriate exclusion and disciplinary actions against students with disabilities.

The lead attorney is Lori Rogich with the Rogich Law Firm in Las Vegas. The team includes Hillary Freeman, Catherine Resiman, Jefferey Wasserman and Gregory Little. Some were present during the news conference.

“Time is of the essence for these children in special education and what we need here is systemic change to solve a system problem and you’re right, that will take time,” Little said.

8 News Now spoke with Hillary Freeman prior to the news conference. Lori Rogich and her husband Sig were involved in a previous suit against the school district involving her daughter, who had been diagnosed with dyslexia.

“The school district said that she would never graduate high school, well she’s now a senior at the University of Utah,” Rogich said.

“We were asking for a methodology to be included in their daughter’s individualized education program and the school district refused to do it,” Freeman added.

The Rogich family sued CCSD and said nothing has changed since. The attorney said teachers are not to blame, adding that the educators and families appear to be on the same side.

“Teachers are begging for support, they’re begging the administration for support, and they are being denied that support,” Freeman said.

“I appreciate everything going on here because I know that it’s going to at least open doors for a lot of people,” Rose said.

All parents urged others in their shoes to keep knocking on doors, ask questions and push for change.

“The Nevada Department of Education generally refrains from commenting on active litigation,” officials from the NDE said. CCSD officials also declined to comment on the lawsuit per district policy.

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