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U.S. Attorney settles with Lexington's Sayre School in disability discrimination case

Lexington Herald-Leader - 10/18/2021

Oct. 18—The U.S. Attorney's Office on Monday announced a settlement with Lexington's private Sayre School that ensures individuals with disabilities have equal access to the school's facilities.

The settlement agreement resolves a disability discrimination complaint initiated in 2016 by the government under the Americans with Disabilities Act. A complaint was filed alleging there were physical access barriers at Sayre's Lower School.

Sayre has an enrollment of more than 600 students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. As a private elementary and secondary school, Sayre is subject to the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, a news release said.

After an on-site architectural assessment of Sayre's campus, staff in the government's civil right's division concluded that several buildings on Sayre's campus contained physical barriers to access in violation of the ADA.

As part of the resolution Sayre has taken "broad remedial action to remove architectural barriers" in school buildings across its campus, the news release said.

School officials consulted with civil rights division staff during construction of its new Lower School to ensure the building was ADA-compliant and will renovate its playground facilities to ensure that they are accessible to, and usable by, children with disabilities

"Under federal law, public accommodations like Sayre School have an obligation to provide facilities that do not discriminate against students with disabilities," said Carlton S. Shier, IV, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

"Though this settlement," Shier said, "Sayre has agreed to address access barriers on its campus and safeguard ongoing compliance. The Department of Justice remains committed to doing its part to ensure that children with disabilities have equal access to their school facilities."

Sayre School officials said in the news release that they worked with the Department of Justice "to ensure that the campus is inclusive and accessible to all students, faculty, and visitors."

"By improving the accessibility of our campus, we have further enhanced our learning environment," the statement said.

This story was originally published October 18, 202111:29 AM.

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