A day care in Smyrna has settled a complaint with the U.S. attorney’s office over allegations that the program violated the Americans with Disabilities Act when it refused to enroll a toddler with autism.
Smarter Kids Child Care denies the allegations, but agreed to pay the family thousands of dollars and agreed to implement new policies.
“It’s always unfortunate when we come across situations where we believe that children, and their ability to be educated and to prosper, is impacted by what we perceive as a violation of the law,” U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Ryan Buchanan said in an interview, adding, “What we’re pleased to report in this particular case is that the day care center, Smarter Kids, was a willing partner in resolving the situation.”
Buchanan said his office has uncovered a number of day cares in recent years that were violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.
According to a copy of the settlement, the family of a then 2-year-old boy tried to enroll him into the Smyrna day care after he was diagnosed with autism in August 2023. The parent disclosed her son’s condition to Smarter Kids, and the day care allegedly said it could not accept him “due to its inability and lack of expertise in providing services to individuals with disabilities,” the settlement says.
As part of the agreement, Smarter Kids will adopt a nondiscrimination policy to ensure ADA compliance, and provide mandatory training for all employees who make enrollment decisions or consider reasonable accommodation requests. The day care will also pay $7,000 in compensation to the boy’s family and $1,000 to the United States government as a civil penalty.
Brent Wilson, an attorney who represents Smarter Kids, said in a statement that the day care “specifically and unequivocally” denied the accusations. The day care suspects it was targeted by a professional complainant as Smarter Kids never had a face-to-face interaction with the parent or child, he said, and agreed to the settlement because it could not afford to litigate the matter.
“Smarter Kids, a single location, minority and woman owned business, simply did not have the financial resources to contest the claims advanced by the Department of Justice and on advice of counsel made the business decision to resolve the dispute by a settlement agreement,” Wilson said in a statement.
Smarter Kids provides day care services to approximately 60 toddlers and school-aged children in Smyrna, according to the settlement. Day cares in Georgia are regulated by the state. Smarter Kids is in “good standing” with the state, and public records don’t show any enforcement actions against the facility.
Have you experienced issues with day care or child care centers in Georgia? Email our investigative reporter Katherine Landergan at katherine.landergan@ajc.com.
About the Author
