Barnes v. District of Columbia

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA MAKEL BARNES, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Case No. 1:24-cv-750-RCL DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, et al., Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION Plaintiffs are two lifetime residents of the District of Columbia (the "District" or "D.C.") who are currently incarcerated in facilities run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons ("BOP"). They are in BOP facilities because they were each convicted of felony violations of the D.C. Code, and a federal statute requires that such offenders ("D.C. Offenders") be committed to BOP correctional facilities rather than to D.C. correctional facilities. Immediately prior to their incarceration, the plaintiffs were high school students enrolled in special-education programs in the District of Columbia Public Schools ("DCPS"), where they received special education and other related services pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Act ("IDEA").

Since the beginning of their incarceration in BOP facilities, the plaintiffs have been denied the special education services they were receiving from DCPS in accordance with the IDEA. They have sued both the District and BOP, alleging that the District has violated the IDEA by denying them a free appropriate public education ("FAPE"). Because BOP, as a federal agency, is not bound by the IDEA, the plaintiffs' suit against the BOP alleges constitutional rather than statutory claims: They contend that the agency violated their due process rights by denying them access to a FAPE without notice or a meaningful opportunity to be heard.