The company running the daycare settled a disabilities discrimination case with the feds in the 2011.
MOORESTOWN -- A Pennsylvania-based company denies that it violated the Americans with Disabilities Act when its Moorestown daycare expelled a child with Down syndrome who was not potty-trained.
The U.S. attorney for New Jersey announced Wednesday that it had filed a complaint against Nobel Learning Communities, the for-profit corporation in West Chester that runs Chesterbrook Academy in Moorestown.
The government alleges that the school violated the law by not providing reasonable accommodations to the little girl.
Nobel Learning Communities said in a statement that it could not comment on the specifics of the case due to privacy concerns, but said that it has been trying for two years to reassure the feds that it acted legally.
"We do not believe that we have violated the law and remain dedicated to serving the educational needs of a diverse student population," the company said.
Camden Co. teen missing almost a week
Nobel also said that it has "extensive policies and procedures" to ensure its hundreds of preschools and other schools comply with the ADA.
"In fact, our policy and procedures were negotiated and agreed to by the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division in 2011, and includes the appointment of a dedicated, external ADA Compliance Officer," Nobel said.
The implementation of those policies was part of a settlement Nobel Learning Communities reached with the Civil Rights Division in 2011 after the latter filed a complaint alleging that the company's schools were denying entrance to students with disabilities including Down syndrome.
The corporation paid $215,000 and agreed to the new policies in the settlement, according to the Department of Justice, though it did not admit wrongdoing.
In the new case, the government is seeking an injunction to prevent discrimination against other disabled individuals as well as compensatory damages for the family and civil penalties.
U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Paul Fishman said in the statement Wednesday that the girl with Down syndrome had attended Chesterbrook Academy in Moorestown since she was a baby. When she was three, she was moved from the "beginner" to the "intermediate" program there.
He said the parents gave the school literature on delayed toilet training for children with Down syndrome, and the principal pledged that the school would try to have her potty-trained within two months. At the end of that period, the school told the family the child was being expelled because she was not potty-trained.
The school refused the parents' requests for "modifications" that would have allowed the girl to stay at the program, the statement said.
Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
