Disability Rights Cases

On September 30, 2022, the Justice Department issued a Letter of Findings against the Minnesota Department of Corrections (MNDOC) under Title II of the ADA after investigating complaints alleging that the state prison system discriminates against incarcerated individuals with disabilities in its General Educational Development (GED) program. The Department found that the MNDOC fails to provide incarcerated individuals with disabilities with necessary reasonable modifications during GED courses and practice tests and denies them opportunities to obtain accommodations during GED exams. This includes individuals with learning disabilities, traumatic brain injuries, vision impairments, and mental health disabilities. On February 14, 2023, the Justice Department filed its complaint and proposed consent decree to resolve its findings. The MNDOC agreed to revise its policies, train personnel and educate incarcerated individuals on these revised policies and the ADA, hire an agency-wide ADA Compliance Officer and designate facility-level ADA and education coordinators, conduct a corrective action review, and provide regular reports to the Department. The MNDOC will also pay over $70,000 in compensatory damages to aggrieved individuals with disabilities. The court approved the consent decree on March 7, 2023

Press Release: Letter of Findings

Press Release: Consent Decree

On December 19, 2022, the U.S Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey reached a settlement agreement under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with Educational Testing Service (ETS) regarding multiple allegations by individuals with disabilities (including learning disabilities, ADHD, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, a vision disabilities) that ETS violated the ADA with respect to its testing accommodations process and procedures.  The agreement commits ETS to revised policies, practices, and procedures; train staff and online proctors; and pay compensatory damages to the complainants.