Legal Question in Education Law in Pennsylvania

Suing an independent school

My 10 year old son has been a student at a Pennsylvania Quaker School for 3 years. He has had a rocky year academically mostly because I am a single mom, full-time teacher, and in a graduate school program for certification which required my taking 24 graduate school credits in one year. In February, we were given a letter telling that he would not be invited to re-enroll next year. We were not given any warnings or conditions for improvement. Another child who was a behavior problem was told also not to re-enroll, but he was later told he had a month to improve his behavior. We were not given the same benefit. There is no handbook delineating rules, regulations, procedures, etc. I wrote to the principal and told her of the familial hardship this year. She ignored my letter. P.S. I fully pay tuition and receive no financial aid. The school does have an anti-discriminaition policy


Asked on 5/20/06, 2:28 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
CHARLES WEINER Law Office of Charles Weiner

Re: Suing an independent school

Unfortunately, it does not appear that you have any cause of action against your school. Generally speaking, in order for an unlawful discriminatory act to occur, the person who has been subject to the purported discrimination must be a member of a protected class (race, sex, age, disability etc.)and the act of discrimination must be base on that persons association with the protected class.

In this matter you have not indicated to what protected class your son belongs. Many children with behavioral issues at school have cognitive disabilities such as ADHD, Learning Disabilities or Oppositional Defiance Disorder. Public schools are subject to several laws that provide procedural protections as well as classroom adaptations and accommodations that support children with disabilities. Private schools, such as the one you son attended are not subject to these laws.

Moving forward, you may want to consider having your child evaluated. Upon written request, your public school (even if your child does not attend) is required to conduct an educational evaluation and issue a written educational evaluation. This report must be completed within sixty school days.

If your child has a disability, the school must provide programming that addresses each aspect of the disbility effecting his education.

Should you need any assistance with this, feel fee to contact me. My practice is focused on representing families with children with disabilities in education.

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Answered on 5/21/06, 8:10 pm


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