U.S. Department
of Justice
Lincoln Public Schools
On February 14, 2024, the Justice Department issued a Letter of Findings to Lincoln Public Schools (LPS) in Lincoln, Nebraska, finding that the school district violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by denying some deaf and hard of hearing students an equal opportunity to attend their neighborhood schools. Following a comprehensive investigation, the department found that, when LPS believes that a student needs American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation, LPS requires the student to attend a cluster school serving deaf and hard of hearing students. In applying this policy, LPS does not consider the individualized needs of deaf and hard of hearing students, denies them an equal opportunity to participate in neighborhood school and high school choice programs and fails to provide effective communication to some deaf and hard of hearing students. LPS’s cluster school requirement also harms the impacted students’ parents who incur transportation costs taking their children to the distant cluster schools. The letter asks the school district to change its policies and procedures, designate an ADA coordinator, train staff, and pay compensatory damages.