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Chester Upland School District et al. v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania et al.

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

CHESTER UPLAND SCHOOL DISTRICT, et al. CIVIL ACTION

V

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, et al. NO. 12-132

ORDER CERTIFYING CLASS

AND NOW, this 25 1h day of April, 2012, upon careful consideration of Plaintiffs' Motion for Class Certification (ECF No. 104) and Amended Motion for Class Certification (ECF No. 123), the briefs submitted in support, as well as the briefs and letters submitted by Defendants, and for the reasons articulated in the accompanying Memorandum Re: Class Certification, it is hereby ORDERED as follows:

1. Plaintiffs' Motion for Class Certification (ECF No. 104) is DENIED as moot.

2. Plaintiffs' Amended Motion for Class Certification (ECF No. 123) is GRANTED

in part and DENIED in part.

3. Specifically, the Court hereby certifies the following class pursuant to Rule 23 of

the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure:

All parents of students attending Chester Upland School

District, including students obtaining or eligible to obtain

services pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities

Education Act as amended, and students with a disability

protected by the Rehabilitation Act of 1974 as amended,

excluding parents of students attending a charter school. 2

4. The Court also certifies two sub-classes, as follows:

(a) All parents of students who attend Chester Upland

School District who are obtaining or are eligible to

obtain services under the IDEA and/or have a

disability protected by the Rehabilitation Act,

excluding parents of students attending a charter

school.

(b) All parents of students who attend Chester Upland

School District, excluding the members of subclass

(a) (parents of students who are obtaining or eligible

to obtain services under the IDEA and/or have a

disability protected by the Rehabilitation Act), and

excluding parents of students attending a charter

school.

5. The class representatives will be T.F., B.C., and M.F. T.F. alone will represent

the first sub-class, while B.C and M.F. will represent the second sub-class.

6. Attorneys Michael Churchill and Sonja Kerr of the Public Interest Law Center of

Philadelphia are appointed to represent the class and sub-classes.

7. This Order applies only to the federal statutory claims which are the subject of the

trial starting May 7, 2012. The Court may further modify the class and sub-class

definitions, depending on the evidence presented at later stages of litigation. 0:\CIVIL 11-12\12-132 Chester v Comm\Chester v Comm Order re Class Cert.wpd 3

E.D. Pa.: Chester Upland School... | Special Education Law