Philly just shifted its rules for how kids with disabilities can get into special admissions schools. A lawsuit threat prompted the change.
“The district should want to have engaged and talented students with disabilities in our top schools, not push them out," said a parent whose child was affected by the now-changed policy.
The Philadelphia School District is changing a policy that effectively barred some qualified students with disabilities from gaining admission into certain magnet schools.
But it did so only after a Philadelphia family — whose child with disabilities was not admitted to a school for which they met academic criteria — notified the district that it intended to sue over the old policy under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The school system’s policy has traditionally worked this way: Students are eligible to apply for admission to up to five of the 37 district schools for which they meet academic, behavioral, and attendance criteria.
Because of a long-ago agreement resulting from another legal challenge, students with disabilities who meet two of the three criteria for a certain school could request an individualized review, known in the system as the LeGare process, to determine if they could succeed at that school if provided with reasonable accommodations.
If a review panel judged the child eligible, the child entered the lottery for that school, but was required to waive their rights to enter lotteries for any schools where they met all three criteria.
That is: If a student meets entry requirements for the Philadelphia High School for Girls but only two out of three requirements for Masterman, they could opt for an individualized review for their Masterman application — but only if they gave up the right to be considered for Girls’ High.
If their Masterman application failed, Girls’ High was off the table.
Dan Urevick-Ackesberg, an attorney with the Public Interest Law Center, which represented the family that threatened to sue the district this year, in a statement, called it the “double bind,” and said the district for years punished children with disabilities for asking for accommodations they were legally guaranteed.
Exact numbers are not known, but it’s expected the change will affect hundreds of Philadelphia students annually. The application process for the 2027-28 school year is expected to open sometime this fall, though the district has not yet announced a date.
Far-reaching impact
The parent who threatened the lawsuit said when they heard about the policy, they thought they must be an oversight.
“But the district doubled down” when they inquired about it, the parent said in a statement. The Inquirer is not naming the parent, child, or school to keep the child’s identity private. “It felt punitive.”
With no other option, the child moved through the admissions process for the school to which they met two out of three academic criteria, but was denied admission in the review process.
Because they had to forego applications to other criteria-based schools for which they did meet requirements, the student was out of luck.
“The painful either-or of the policy effectively ruined my child’s eighth-grade year and has far-reaching impacts on their academic confidence, self-esteem, and social experience,” the parent said.
When the Law Center notified the district of its intent to sue, the district asked to enter settlement negotiations, and agreed to change the policy.
Going forward, students who are English learners or those with disabilities — either those with individualized education plans or 504 plans — will be able to apply for magnet schools for which they meet criteria and those for which they meet two out of three criteria.
There will be no penalty for asking for an individualized review. Students will not need to waive their applications to schools for which they meet criteria.
“I am beyond relieved that this awful policy has been ended,” said the parent whose lawsuit threat prompted the change. “The district should want to have engaged and talented students with disabilities in our top schools, not push them out.”
Urevick-Acklesberg said the policy change means that “one small barrier is down” to students receiving the free, appropriate public education that’s their right under federal law.
The district can still change its school selection process
The new individualized review policy is an appeal process, not a first-line application, and does not guarantee students’ admission into any school.
The agreement “does not prevent the district from modifying its school selection process, including individualized reviews, or eligibility criteria, nor does it require the district to maintain its current processes for any set period of time,” it reads. “However, to the extent the district’s school selection process continues to allow students to apply to more than one school, the district will provide a mechanism for the subject students to apply to a school where they meet the then applicable criteria, and to additionally seek review of their eligibility where they do not.”
The district also announced other changes to the process earlier last week, including:
Changing the zip codes for preferential admission to Masterman, Central, Carver High School for Engineering and Science, and the Academy at Palumbo: 19132, 19133, 19135, 19138, 19140, or 19141. New to the list are 19138 — Germantown — and 19141 — sections of North Philadelphia including Logan and East Oak Lane. No longer on the preference list are 19121 — parts of North Philadelphia including Brewerytown and Sharswood — and 19136, Holmesburg and Torresdale. The zip codes chosen for preference are the most underserved at the four magnet schools.
Limiting the grades that count toward a student’s GPA for admission to magnets. Now, just English, math, and science grades are counted. Social studies grades also used to count.
Granting preference for kindergarten admission to students who attend prekindergarten at the school to which they’re applying.
Granting preference for career and technical education program admissions to students who participate in a district CTE summer program.
