Puerto Rico reaches deal in 1980 lawsuit involving special education services
Puerto Rico's government has reached a deal that ends a 35-year-old lawsuit involving services for special education students in the U.S. territory. Rosa Lydia Velez had sued the island's government in November 1980 after accusing it of not providing her daughter with special education services as required by law. Velez signed a deal Thursday in which she is slated to receive $125,000 in damages. Justice Secretary Cesar Miranda said he viewed the lawsuit as a social justice case. Previous administrations fought the lawsuit for decades. The government still faces other similar claims as well as a class-action lawsuit that has seen the Department of Education pay daily fines for not complying with federal requirements. Puerto Rico reaches deal in 1980 lawsuit involving special education services