Your rights and options – and the deadlines by which to exercise them –
are explained in the Notice.

Please read the Notice carefully in its entirety.

If your or your child’s special education services in Minnesota ended between July 1, 2019 and July 1, 2022 while you or your child were 21 years old, a class action settlement may affect your rights.

• The Court has ruled that a former Minnesota Special Education law violated federal law because it failed to provide special education and related services to students up until the age of 22. To settle the lawsuit, Defendant Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) agreed to provide a fund of $3.2 million for compensatory educational services for Class Members who are not currently receiving special education services. The Class consists of individuals:
  

(1) whose birthdates are between July 1, 1998 through June 30, 2001;
 
(2) who received an individualized education program (IEP) and special education instruction and/or services from a Minnesota school district or local education agency (LEA) sometime between July 1, 2019 and July 1, 2022;
 
(3) whose special education instruction and/or services were ended by the Minnesota school district before the student turned 22 years old; and
 
(4) who did not receive a regular high school diploma from a Minnesota school. Regular high school diploma means the standard high school diploma awarded to the majority of students in Minnesota that is fully aligned with State standards. Regular high school diploma does not include a recognized equivalent of a diploma such as a general equivalency diploma (GED), certificate of completion, certificate of attendance, or a diploma for students who satisfactorily attained the objectives in the student’s IEP.
 

• The parties have proposed a Settlement of the compensatory education claim on behalf of the Class as explained below. The MDE will create a fund in the amount of $3.2 million to: (1) pay for or reimburse certain educational and transition expenses for Class Members; and (2) to pay administrative costs and attorneys’ fees. The administrative costs and attorneys’ fees will not exceed 20 percent of the Fund. Your share (if any) of the Settlement will be determined by: (1) your birth month; (2) when and why the special education instruction and services ended; and (3) the number of Class Members who submit claims.
• Your legal rights are affected by this Class Action, and you have a choice to make now:

YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS AND OPTIONS IN THIS LAWSUIT
SUBMIT A CLAIM FORM	Stay in this lawsuit and participate in the Settlement. Send in a Claim Form. Give up certain rights.   By sending a Claim Form, you may be entitled to obtain compensatory educational benefits from this Settlement. But you give up any rights to sue the MDE separately about the same legal claims in this lawsuit, including claims under Section 504, the ADA and IDEA. The deadline to file a Claim Form is December 7, 2024.
OBJECT TO THE SETTLEMENT	Tell the Court you object to the Settlement.   You may remain in the Class and object to the Settlement by writing to the Court and explaining why you think the Settlement is not fair, reasonable, or adequate. But if the Court approves the Settlement despite your objection, you give up any rights to sue the MDE separately about the same legal claims in this lawsuit. You may also appear at the Final Fairness Hearing to explain the objection. The deadline to submit an objection is December 7, 2024.
ASK TO BE EXCLUDED	Get out of this lawsuit. Get no compensatory educational benefits. Keep rights.   If you ask to be excluded, you will not obtain compensatory education benefits. But you keep any rights to sue the MDE separately for such compensatory educational benefits and other available remedies. The deadline to request exclusion is December 7, 2024.
DO NOTHING	If you do not send a Claim Form or ask to be excluded, you will not obtain compensatory education benefits. But you still give up any rights to sue the MDE separately about the same legal claims in this lawsuit.