A federal court sided with the parents of a Galesburg child in a lawsuit over disability education rights – but the case may not be over.
Attorneys for Galesburg District 205 filed a notice of intent to appeal to the U.S Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit on Jan. 3.
That met the deadline of 30 days from the entry of the judgment in the case.
The board of education will now consider at its regular meeting on Monday, Jan. 13, whether to move forward with the appeal.
Consideration and action to authorize an appeal is on the agenda in open session for Monday’s meeting.
The district would be appealing a judgment issued Dec. 6 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois. The judgment reversed an administrative ruling and vacated an Individualized Educational Program that would have sent a Galesburg District 205 student with disabilities to a therapeutic day school in Peoria.
In the lawsuit filed in July 2024, the parents argued the school district’s plan violated a requirement of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that stipulates a child with a disability has the right to be educated in the “least restrictive environment.”
The school district denied the child’s rights were being violated and argued the child posed a threat to the safety of others.
The child’s mother, Pamella Bess-Tabb, is serving her first term on the Galesburg District 205 Board of Education and has filed to run for a second term.
