Alabama is accused of discriminating against disabled foster kids — DOJ now involved

Alabama settles with DOJ

The U.S. Justice Department announced on Feb. 11, 2026, that it reached a settlement with Alabama over how the state educates foster children with disabilities.

The DOJ said Alabama discriminated against these kids in violation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which bars state and local governments from discriminating against people with disabilities in their programs and services.

The DOJ called the agreement a first-of-its-kind.

Agreement sets new rules for Alabama

The settlement requires Alabama to make sure foster children with disabilities in psychiatric residential treatment facilities attend school in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs.

When students do learn on-site at one of these facilities, the state must give them equal educational opportunities.

The agreement also covers young people who are leaving the foster care system, ensuring the new protections follow them through that transition.

What are psychiatric residential treatment facilities?

Psychiatric residential treatment facilities, or PRTFs, are non-hospital centers that give round-the-clock psychiatric care to children with serious mental health needs. Alabama oversees 19 of them across the state.

Medicaid can pay for care in these settings, which makes them one of the few institutional options available to children.

The state places foster children in PRTFs when it decides they need a higher level of mental health support.

DOJ found Alabama routinely failed these students

A DOJ investigation wrapped up in October 2022 found that Alabama automatically placed foster children in segregated on-site schools at PRTFs, without running proper assessments of each student’s abilities or needs.

The Civil Rights Division’s Educational Opportunities Section conducted the investigation alongside the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Alabama.

Investigators found that Alabama sent students to these schools regardless of where they stood academically.

On-site schools lacked basic resources

The DOJ found that on-site schools at PRTFs lacked grade-appropriate materials and adequate instruction. Students had no access to libraries, science labs, or gyms.

They also missed out on sports, extracurricular activities, and the kind of social connections that come with attending school alongside peers their age.

The DOJ concluded that most of these students could have been appropriately served in general education settings with the right support in place.

Alabama has faced federal scrutiny before

This is not the first time federal authorities have looked at Alabama’s treatment of children with disabilities.

In January 2025, the DOJ found separately that Alabama unnecessarily placed children with physical disabilities in nursing facilities and hospitals.

A class-action lawsuit filed in 2021 by the Southern Poverty Law Center, Children’s Rights, and the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program challenged the state’s broader practice of placing foster children in PRTFs unnecessarily.

That lawsuit reached a preliminary settlement in late December 2025 and still awaits a federal court fairness hearing.

Federal law backs the settlement

Title II of the ADA requires states to serve people with disabilities in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs.

That principle traces back to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1999 Olmstead decision, which held that unnecessary segregation of people with disabilities counts as discrimination.

Alabama, as the legal guardian of children in its foster care system, bears responsibility for making sure those kids get an education that meets federal standards, including those placed in PRTFs.

Alabama has about 6,000 kids in foster care

Alabama has about 6,000 children in foster care, according to the state’s Department of Human Resources.

As of 2021, more than 500 youth were placed in PRTFs at any given time, based on data cited in the 2021 class-action lawsuit.

Advocacy groups that filed that lawsuit said the population of children in these facilities is disproportionately Black.

The February 2026 settlement focuses specifically on the education these children receive while in those placements.

Trump executive order ties into the deal

The DOJ said the agreement advances the goals of President Trump’s Executive Order 14359, signed Nov. 13, 2025.

The order, called “Fostering the Future for American Children and Families,” aims to modernize the foster care system and directs federal agencies to build partnerships and resources for children leaving foster care.

First Lady Melania Trump led the initiative behind the order. The DOJ pointed to the executive order as part of the broader push behind the settlement.

Officials say the deal benefits all students

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division said children in foster care should not face different treatment because of their circumstances.

Dhillon said the DOJ applauds Alabama for reaching this agreement so that all students can benefit from an education that sets them up for a promising future.

The DOJ also encouraged anyone with information about possible civil rights violations to report them through the Civil Rights Division.

What happens next in Alabama and beyond

The settlement between the DOJ and Alabama is now in effect.

The separate class-action lawsuit settlement still needs approval from a federal judge at a fairness hearing. Child welfare advocates say more work remains to improve conditions for Alabama’s children in state care.

The agreement could also influence how other states handle education for foster children with disabilities in residential facilities. The DOJ has looked into similar issues in West Virginia, Arizona, and Idaho.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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