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Litigation

L.V. v. NYC Department of Education

L.V. v. NYC Department of Education

In the L.V. case, parents of children with disabilities claimed that they had received favorable orders in impartial hearings, but the New York City Department of Education (DOE) was not implementing the orders. The parents also claimed that the DOE did not have a system of tracking and monitoring implementation of the orders. Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy LLP and AFC are co-counsel.

In December 2007, AFC and Milbank, on behalf of Lead Plaintiffs and the Class, entered into a settlement agreement with the DOE that provides injunctive and compensatory relief to class members. The Settlement was approved by the Honorable Richard J. Holwell at the Settlement Fairness Hearing held on April 10, 2008.

Under the settlement, the DOE is required to implement all impartial hearing orders within the time frame stated in the order or 35 calendar days of the date of the order if no time is specified. Orders that require immediate action must be implemented within 7 business days. An independent auditor reviews the DOE's implementation of each order and if the auditor finds that the DOE did not timely implement any part of the order, the DOE must notify the parent by letter of its failure to timely implement the order. That notice can be used as evidence during any proceeding to enforce the order.

Parents who have questions about the settlement or concerns about the DOE not implementing an impartial hearing order can call Advocates for Children's L.V. Hotline at (646) 532-6078.

Parents who need assistance from the DOE to implement an order should call the DOE's Impartial Hearing Order Implementation Unit at (718) 935-3213.

Associated Documents:

L.V. v. Department of Education Complaint [PDF], December 12, 2003

L.V. v. Department of Education First Amended Complaint [PDF], January 13, 2004

L.V. v. Department of Education Second Amended Complaint [PDF], April 15, 2004

Plaintiffs' Memorandum in Support of Plaintiffs' Motion for Class Certification [PDF], February 4, 2004

Plaintiffs' Memorandum in Support of Plaintiffs' Renewed Motion for Class Certification [PDF], October 22, 2004

Class Certification Decision [PDF], September 15, 2005

Stipulation of Settlement [PDF], December 11, 2007

Order Preliminarily Approving the Settlement [PDF], December 27, 2007

Final Approval Order [PDF], April 10, 2008

Independent Auditor's First Quarterly Report [PDF], January 9, 2009

Independent Auditor's Second Quarterly Report [PDF], June 11, 2009

Independent Auditor's First Benchmark Report [PDF], June 11, 2009

Independent Auditor's First Quarterly Report After the DOE's Corrective Action Plan [PDF], April 9, 2010

Independent Auditor's Second Quarterly Report After the DOE's Corrective Action Plan [PDF], August 13, 2010

Independent Auditor's Third Quarterly Report After the DOE's Corrective Action Plan [PDF], December 13, 2010

Independent Auditor's Fourth Quarterly Report After the DOE's Corrective Action Plan [PDF], March 9, 2011

Motion for an Independent Special Master [PDF], September 3, 2019

Memorandum of Law in support of a Declaratory Judgment [PDF], October 29, 2020

Motion Granted for an Independent Special Master [PDF], January 28, 2021

Court’s Memorandum and Order [PDF], February 18, 2021

Judgement for Declaratory Relief [PDF], March 2, 2021

Scope of Authority for the Special Master [PDF], May 14, 2021

Special Master Findings: Overview Presentation, Letter to the Judge, and Recommendations Report [PDF], March 29, 2023

Judicial Order Implementing Special Master's Recommendations, July 19, 2023