The Ray M. class action lawsuit was brought in 1994 by New York City parents of preschool children with disabilities. The complaint alleged that these children were denied their rights to appropriate educational services under state and federal law, including that:
Preschool students with disabilities were wrongfully denied timely referrals and evaluations to special education,
Preschool students with disabilities were placed in the most restrictive classroom settings,
Preschool students with limited English proficiency were denied timely special education evaluations in the appropriate language and were placed in inappropriately restrictive classroom settings.
The case was settled in 1999 and was successful in creating new inclusive educational environments for preschool students with disabilities, who had previously been warehoused in segregated settings.