Office for Civil Rights Requires Springfield Public Schools (MA) to Address Elevator Access, FAPE, and Placement Concerns
OCR identifies concerns that broken elevators may have denied students with mobility impairments access to classes, teachers, peers, FAPE, and participation in the regular educational environment.
April 8, 2026, U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a resolution letter to Springfield Public Schools (SPS) in Massachusetts after investigating a complaint alleging disability discrimination involving elevator access at Springfield High School of Science and Technology.
OCR investigated one allegation:
“[W]hether the District is discriminating on the basis of disability against students and other individuals with mobility impairments by failing to properly maintain and repair the elevators at Springfield High School of Science and Technology (the School).”
Before OCR completed its investigation, SPS expressed interest in resolving the allegation. April 7, 2026, SPS entered into a resolution agreement with OCR after OCR determined its investigation had identified issues that could be addressed through a resolution agreement.
What Happened
Springfield High School of Science and Technology serves approximately 1,100 high school students. Its main building has four floors, two passenger elevators, and one freight elevator. According to OCR, the school was built in 1952 and last renovated in 1996.
The district acknowledged to OCR that the age of the elevators caused frequent and extended mechanical failures. SPS said:
“[I]t has spent $44,000 to maintain the School’s elevators in the last three years, but the two passenger elevators have operated only intermittently, and the freight elevator has been inoperable since 2023.”
That is not a small inconvenience.
For a student who uses a wheelchair, crutches, a scooter, or has another mobility impairment, a broken elevator can mean the student cannot get to class. For staff members with mobility impairments, broken elevators can also affect access to the building and their ability to do their jobs.
For students, this can directly affect access to instruction.
According to OCR’s letter of findings:
“In March 2025, a District Operational Manager reported that all three elevators were down so multiple students using crutches, a scooter, or a wheelchair were assigned to the library where teachers would drop off their schoolwork. In August 2025, the Principal reported that the School had “no working elevator” and a Food Service Manager relayed that the elevators “will be down for the year.” From September 2025 to January 2026, a Math Specialist expressed concerns that students with mobility challenges “will not be able to access their actual classrooms until next year” and were instead put in the library to “effectively teach themselves.” Multiple School staff emphasized that students with mobility issues “have no access to the third and fourth floor.””
That last part should bother everyone.
Students were not just waiting for an elevator repair. According to OCR’s summary of the evidence, students with mobility impairments were being assigned to the library, teachers were dropping off work, and staff were raising concerns that students could not access their actual classrooms.
That is where the access issue becomes an education issue.
