Justice Dept. sues private school company for alleged exclusion of children with autism, other disabilities

From the Philadelphia Business Journal:

The U.S. Justice Department has sued Nobel Learning Communities Inc., accusing the operator of private schools of ‘excluding children with autism spectrum disorders and other disabilities from its schools and programs,” the department said.

In a statement Nobel said it “vigorously denies the allegations.”

The Justice Department said the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, says Nobel did not allow students to be enrolled in, and removed students from, its schools in violation of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

West Chester, Pa.-based Nobel’s (NASDAQ:NLCI) CEO, George Bernstein, said in a statement that “Nobel Learning has always served disabled students and it will continue to do so.”

The company said the “allegations ... largely focus on the company's decision to not enroll (or to disenroll) 12 students at eight of its schools between 2005 and 2008.”

Nobel operates more than 180 nonsectarian private preschools, elementary schools, and middle schools in 15 states with 26,000 students. “That number includes nearly 1,400 students currently enrolled in Nobel Learning schools with a wide range of disabilities,” Bernstein said.

“The alleged violations are the result of decisions we made to act in the best interests of the children in question and the schools as a whole,” he said.