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Montana Reaches Settlement with Student with Disabilities

Disability Rights Montana filed a lawsuit on behalf of the family, claiming the teen had gone without formal education for years

By Molly Priddy

HELENA — The Office of Public Instruction and a rural Montana school district have agreed to a more than $1 million settlement to a student with disabilities.

The Independent Record reports Disability Rights Montana filed a lawsuit on behalf of the family, claiming the teen had gone without formal education for years and was segregated from other students.

Court documents do not name the student or the school district.

Most of the settlement money will fund the teen’s education under a neurophysiology expert.

Office of Public Instruction spokesperson Dylan Klapmeier says the office does not admit to any liability.

Klapmeier says Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen made the decision to settle “based on the best interests of the student and also to bring this long-standing litigation to a close.”