Lower Merion Student's Lawsuit Seeks To Change Disabled Student Rules

LOWER MERION TOWNSHIP, PA — A new federal lawsuit is seeking to extend the time students with disabilities can stay in Pennsylvania's schools, and it stems from a student in the Lower Merion School District.

The suit, filed on July 11 in federal court, is a class suit against the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

While the student is only referred to as "A.P." in the suit, the suit does him as a 19-year-old student with disabilities in the Lower Merion School District from Villanova.

He is suing the department via his parents and is represented by the Public Interest Law Center and Berney & Sang.

"A.P. is entitled to a [free appropriate public education] until February 10, 2026, when he turns 22," the suit reads. "But as a result of [the Pennsylvania Department of Education's] Age-Out Policy, his special education and services will be terminated at the end of the 2024-2025 school year, depriving A.P. of over half a year of the supports to which he is entitled under the [Individuals with Disabilities Education Act]."

The Age-Out Policy requires students with disabilities in Pennsylvania to graduate or leave schools at 21 years old.

"[The Pennsylvania Department of Education's] Age-Out Policy unlawfully deprives students with disabilities of up to a year of a [free appropriate public education] at a critical juncture of their lives, denying them essential services such as job readiness training, functional math and literacy instruction, and the acquisition of daily living skills such as using public transportation, shopping for groceries, or managing a home," the suit reads.

It goes on to say: "The Age-Out Policy also harms the very students most in need of these services: students with significant disabilities who are more likely to remain in school instead of earning a regular high school diploma, and who will require coordinated, comprehensive supports to successfully transition to adult life."

The suit is looking for a federal judge to invalidate the age-out policy in Pennsylvania.

According to the suit, on average, the state has more than 17,000 students with disabilities between 18 and 21 who get special education and related services in the state each year.

About 300 of them are 21, the suit states.