CAMDEN, N.J. – The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a complaint today against a corporation which operates a South Jersey day care facility for allegedly violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by expelling a child with Down syndrome, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
The complaint was filed in Camden federal court against Nobel Learning Communities (NLC), a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in West Chester, Pennsylvania. NLC owns and operates Chesterbrook Academy, a private, pre-school facility in Moorestown, New Jersey.
According to the complaint:
NLC failed to make reasonable modifications for a child with Down syndrome and then expelled the child from Chesterbrook.
Chesterbrook offers day care and education programs for children from six weeks old through kindergarten. The child in this case was enrolled at Chesterbrook when less than a year old. Approximately two years after enrolling, Chesterbrook notified the parents that their child was being moved from the “beginner” program to the “intermediate” program. The parents provided the school with literature on delayed toilet training in children with Down syndrome. The child was moved into the intermediate program, and the principal informed the parents that the school was going to work on getting the child toilet trained by a set date. Approximately two months later, the school notified the child’s parents that it was expelling their child because the child was not toilet trained. The parents requested various modifications to allow the child to remain enrolled, but the school refused to implement the modifications and expelled the child.
The federal civil suit seeks, among other things, a judgment against NLC for violation of the ADA, an injunction against the company to prevent discrimination against individuals with disabilities, compensatory damages to be awarded to the child and the child’s parents and a civil penalty against NLC.
Individuals who believe they may have been victims of discrimination may file a complaint with the U.S Attorney’s Office at http://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/civil-rights-enforcement/complaint. Additional information about the ADA can be found at www.ada.gov, or by calling the Department of Justice’s toll-free information line at (800) 514-0301 and (800) 514-0383 (TDD).
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordan M. Anger of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Civil Division in Newark.