(The Center Square) – A federal lawsuit filed in New York is raising questions about whether public school districts are systematically denying services to students with disabilities, potentially affecting families statewide.
The case, Doe v. Oceanside Union Free School District, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York and alleges that the district failed to provide legally required special education services to a student with an individualized education program due to the student’s vaccination status.
The complaint alleges that some districts deny in-person attendance to students who lack required vaccinations, while also failing to provide alternative services such as remote instruction or related therapies mandated by their IEPs.
“The problem is systemic and affects tens of thousands of families statewide, but the state has made it very difficult to pin down exact numbers, which is itself part of the story,” said attorney Chad Davenport in an email to The Center Square.
New York serves approximately 2.42 million K-12 students, with about 489,000 children receiving special education services. Under federal law, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, school districts are required to provide a “free appropriate public education” to students with disabilities.
New York spends an estimated $15.8 billion annually on special education instruction, averaging more than $32,000 per student. When including additional costs, the total per-pupil spending can exceed $38,000.
The lawsuit follows New York’s 2019 repeal of religious exemptions for school vaccination requirements, a move that affected more than 26,217 students statewide. Families were then required to vaccinate their children, obtain a medical exemption or withdraw from school.
According to a 2024 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, New York’s exemption rate is about 0.1%, among the lowest in the country. The study found that, unlike in states such as California, medical exemptions in New York declined after the policy change.
Davenport claims school districts have resisted requests for records under New York’s Freedom of Information Law, limiting public visibility into how many students are affected.
“When districts reject a medical exemption and exclude a child with an IEP, they are typically receiving that weighted per-pupil funding while providing zero services. They’re keeping the money,” Davenport said.
The Oceanside Union Free School District did not immediately respond to The Center Square’s request for comment.
The case has a preliminary injunction already granted to the student. The next step is a court decision on the district’s motion to dismiss that will determine whether the lawsuit moves forward.
