The Rhode Island ACLU is suing the Providence School District and the state department of education in federal court.
The class-action suit alleges the district failed to provide required special education services to hundreds of preschool children.
According to the ACLU, the "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act" provides for early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities from birth to their third birthday.
The law further requires school districts to offer a "free appropriate public education" to those children beginning with their third birthday.
The organization alleges that many eligible children in Providence are not being provided those services.
(Photo by GEORGE FREY/AFP via Getty Images)
Photo: GEORGE FREY / AFP / Getty Images