Pennsauken (NJ) School District Named in Federal Lawsuit (Case# 1:12-cv-07646-JEI-JS)

PENNSAUKEN, N.J. - Sept. 16, 2013 - PRLog -- For most families, back to school is a time of anticipation and excitement.  But for the Vandergrift family, discussions about school trigger a groundswell of emotion and a wide variety of difficult memories.  Since the 2010-11 school year, the Vandergrifts have worked tirelessly to secure an appropriate education for the youngest member of the family, DV, a child with autism and generalized anxiety disorder.

As a result of their efforts advocating for DV, the Vandergrifts have been in dispute with the Pennsauken School District in Southern New Jersey.  The Vandergrift family allegedly encountered a pattern of resistance, which grew increasingly contentious as the issues DV faced in his educational environment became more problematic.

According to the lawsuit, while the Vandergrifts continued to work on DV’s behalf, representatives of the Pennsauken School District allegedly subjected members of the family to several incidents of retaliation for advocating for a disabled individual, as well as anti-gay discrimination. The lawsuit alleges that these tactics were intended to intimidate the Vandergrift family so they would stop advocating for DV.

The Vandergrift family subsequently filed a complaint in Federal Court alleging retaliation and discrimination.

At issue in the complaint filed in Federal Court are alleged retaliatory and discriminatory tactics executed by the School District to intimidate the Vandergrift family.  A trial date has yet to be scheduled.

U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, Camden Vicinage

D.V., et al. v. Pennsauken School District, et al.

C.A. No. 1:12-cv-07646-JEI-JS