Boyer v. Jeremiah
STUDENT RIGHTS. (2010-ongoing)
A class-action lawsuit charging that the state’s truancy court system is devoid of due process protections in violation of state and federal law. Filed in the Rhode Island Superior Court against a number of state family court judges and officials of six school districts including Providence, the lawsuit charges that the truancy courts are frequently punitive in nature, and that truancy court magistrates threaten vulnerable children and their parents with baseless fines and imprisonment, remove children from the custody of their parents without legal justification and fail to keep adequate records of court hearings. The lawsuit also charges that the court system disproportionately impacts children who have difficulty attending school or doing their schoolwork because of special education or medical needs.
The lawsuit seeks a preliminary injunction requiring an initial investigation of truancy charges before petitions are filed; the transcribing or reporting of all truancy court proceedings; and that the court be barred from issuing orders against students and parents over whom it has no jurisdiction. The lawsuit also seeks final declaratory and injunctive relief requiring that court and school officials abide by federal state and constitutional and state statutory law.
Cooperating Attorneys: Amy R. Tabor and Thomas W. Lyons (with Robin L. Dahlberg and Yelena Konanova of the ACLU Racial Justice Program, and Deborah N. Archer of New York Law School).
Documents:
Lawsuit in the Rhode Island Superior Court
Summaries of the Named Plaintiffs' Involvment with Truancy Court
Intake Form - Online form to submit your own experiences wtih the Rhode Island Truancy Court Program to the ACLU legal team.
Settlement Agreement with the Woonsocket Education Department
News Releases:
November 2, 2010 - ACLU Sues More School Districts in Truancy Court Lawsuit
October 8, 2010 - Judge Denies Motion to Dismiss Truancy Court Lawsuit
August 2, 2010 - Professors of Legal Ethics File Brief Opposing Judges' Efforts to Oust Lawyers in Truancy Court Case
June 28, 2010 - ACLU Challenges Judges' Attempt to "Gag" Lawyers In Truancy Court Case
May 13, 2010 - Woonsocket Education Department Agrees To Stop Sending Children To Unlawfully Operated Rhode Island Truancy Courts
March 29, 2010 - ACLU Lawsuit Challenges Unconstitutional Practices of Rhode Island Truancy Courts
Providence, RI 02903