U.S. Department
of Justice
Lincoln Public Schools
On August 15, 2024, the United States filed a Complaint and proposed Consent Decree to resolve allegations that Lincoln Public Schools (LPS) violates Title II of the ADA by denying some deaf and hard of hearing students an equal opportunity to attend their neighborhood schools or participate in the high school choice program. The Complaint alleges that until 2024, LPS applied a blanket policy requiring students believed to need American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation to attend cluster schools serving deaf and hard of hearing students. Under the proposed Consent Decree, LPS has agreed to pay $12,000 to compensate individuals the policy harmed; end its blanket policy of requiring deaf and hard of hearing students believed to need ASL to attend a cluster school; adopt non-discrimination policies and complaint procedures; designate an ADA coordinator; train staff and provide reports to the department during a monitoring period.