The Department of Justice announced a settlement agreement with the Pasco County School District after an investigation into the district's alleged disciplinary discrimination against students with disabilities.
According to the DOJ, the investigation found that the district routinely suspended students or called the police for disability-related behavior when they could have addressed it through proper support and de-escalation.
The investigation also reported problems with how the district conducted threat assessments, a process for evaluating and responding to potential school security concerns.
The DOJ said when these processes involved students with disabilities, the district systematically failed to consider the relationship between a student's disability and their behavior and whether appropriate support would help the student and address the behavior.
Instead, the DOJ said the school district would often unnecessarily refer students to law enforcement to be arrested or start the process for an involuntary admission into a mental health facility under Florida’s Baker Act.
Disability Rights Florida is Florida's protection and advocacy network. Caitlyn Clibbon, Director of Community and Healthcare Services with Disability Rights Florida, said the statewide organization connected the DOJ with parents who called their hotline regarding discipline issues in Pasco County Schools.
"So when a student with disabilities has behaviors that are related to their disability that invokes certain rights and responsibilities that the school has to accommodate them," said Clibbon.
The DOJ will monitor the school district's implementation of the agreement and will continue to monitor and enforce an ongoing desegregation order that covers the district.
Under the agreement, Pasco County Schools will:
- Ensure that district personnel accurately assess disability-related behaviors, identify appropriate interventions for those behaviors, and monitor the implementation of those interventions;
- Hire a consultant with expertise in behavior interventions who will assist in updating its policies and practices;
- Update its student code of conduct, threat assessment process, and process for calling law enforcement to ensure that the district is adequately considering disability-related behaviors and modifying its policies and procedures to avoid discrimination based on disability;
- Develop appropriate training to help schools implement the agreement and respond appropriately to student behavior and
- Improve data collection and analysis systems and regularly evaluate data to ensure students with disabilities are not excluded from school for disability-related behaviors through the district’s discipline, threat assessment, and law enforcement referral practices.
- Progress will be monitored by the DOJ
The Pasco County School District sent ABC Action News the following statement:
"The Department of Justice (DOJ) opened an investigation in response to an allegation made in 2020 regarding data sharing with law enforcement that eventually shifted to allegations that the District discriminated against students with disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The investigation period began in January 2021 and concluded in January 2023.
The DOJ focused on the District’s practices with respect to students with disabilities and student discipline, threat assessments, and referrals to law enforcement during the 2018-2019 through 2021-2022 school years. It is important to note that under the federal Individuals with Education Act (IDEA), the District has been identified as meeting requirements, with no significant discipline disproportionality for students with disabilities during the same period.
Though we do not agree that we engaged in any discriminatory behavior or practices, we believe in continuous improvement, and we fully cooperated during the investigation. In the spirit of cooperation, the District signed a settlement agreement with the DOJ and committed to changes in support of our continuous improvement efforts."
