Parents in Action on Special Education (PASE) v. Hannon

Black children made up 62 percent of the students in the Chicago public-school system (district) (defendant) but took up 82 percent of the seats in the district’s special classes for the mentally handicapped. Placement into a special class was a long process. A teacher would make a written report, which a principal would present to a screening committee. The committee made a recommendation to the principal, who could then refer the child to the district’s Special Education Bureau (bureau) to open a case for the child. After the bureau conducted evaluations, the principal would convene a multidisciplinary staff conference at which every attendee would review the bureau’s findings and make an individual recommendation as to the child’s placement. Before placement in a special-education class, a child would have been evaluated by a psychologist, and parents could request further hearings and judicial review. During this process, the district would frequently administer one of two standard IQ tests to referred students. A group representing the Black students placed in the district’s special-education classes (plaintiffs) sued the district, alleging that the IQ tests were culturally biased against Black students and that their use in student placement decisions was thus unlawful. The district court found that, as a factual matter, a small number of the questions on the tests were biased and inappropriate for use with Black children.