The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan [advocacy website] filed a class-action lawsuit [complaint, PDF; fact sheet, PDF] Monday regarding children’s education in relation to the Flint water crisis. The plaintiffs include 15 Flint families who allege that the Michigan Department of Education, Flint Community Schools and Genesee Intermediate School District failed to protect children’s guaranteed federal civil rights to education. The complaint alleges violation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, §504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The lawsuit alleges that authorities have failed to acknowledge that the water crisis creates an unsafe learning environment for children.

Water contamination has been a major concern over the last year. Last month the US Senate approved legislation [JURIST report] amending the Safe Drinking Water Act to provide $100 million in emergency funding to repair pipes in cities suffering from lead contamination, such as Flint, Michigan. In May the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People announced [JURIST report] a lawsuit against Michigan officials over the Flint water contamination crisis. In April David Leyton, a prosecutor in Genesee County, Michigan, announced [JURIST report] that a Michigan judge will allow criminal charges against three people involved in the water crisis in Flint, including the man who supervised the treatment plan as well as two state environmental officials. In March Governor Rick Snyder of Michigan was served with a class action lawsuit [JURIST report] over the water contamination in Flint, Michigan.