United States v. Arkansas

The Conway Human Development Center (the center) was a residential facility in Arkansas (the state) (defendant) that provided services and care to persons with developmental disabilities, including children. The Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice (the Justice Department) (plaintiff) sued the state, alleging that the center systematically violated various constitutional and civil rights of its residents. One claim, particularly related to the children at the center, alleged that the center violated the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) by failing to provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to the children in its care in the least restrictive setting appropriate, as required by the statute. As the case was progressing, the Arkansas Department of Education (the department of education) began an investigation of the center. The department of education produced a comprehensive report, finding that the center was in substantial compliance with some of the IDEA requirements but had failed to meet some of the requirements for providing a FAPE for each child. The department of education ordered the center to begin a corrective action plan, which was underway but not yet completed, and would monitor the center for future compliance with the corrective plan and the IDEA. In the meantime, the Justice Department had petitioned the district court for injunctive relief against the center.