A lawsuit filed earlier this week on behalf of a Lower Merion School District student alleges that Pennsylvania is denying some students with disabilities up to a year of federally guaranteed education, writes Kristen A. Graham for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Students with special needs are granted the right to an education under Federal law until they either earn a regular high school diploma or turn 22. However, Keystone State forces students with disabilities to graduate at the end of the school year when they reach 21.

The suit states that this deprives some of the most vulnerable citizens in Pennsylvania of a year of services that could assist them in working toward educational and life goals.

The complaint has been filed in federal court against the Pennsylvania Department of Education. It was brought on behalf of a student with multiple disabilities who is currently 19, but the suit also asked to be granted class-action status.

The Lower Merion student and his parents want a judge to force the state to alter its policy and allow the student to continue his education until he turns 22. Read more about the lawsuit in The Philadelphia Inquirer

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