Glen Mills Education Settlement: Funds, Awards, and Deadlines

The Glen Mills education settlement is a $3 million agreement the Chester County Intermediate Unit approved in January 2023 to resolve federal class action claims that it failed to provide required education to students placed at the now-closed Glen Mills Schools in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The money was split between a fund that pays for educational expenses and a fund that pays cash damages to students who experienced or witnessed physical abuse. About 1,600 former students were eligible, and the deadline to file a claim was January 19, 2024.¹²

Who Qualified for the Settlement

Eligibility turned on when a student attended Glen Mills. A former student qualified if they attended the school at any point after April 11, 2017, or if they attended before that date and had not turned 20 by April 11, 2019.¹ Approximately 1,600 former students met that definition and were eligible for compensatory education funding.²

The date cutoffs tie directly to the lawsuit itself. The complaint, Derrick et al. v. The Glen Mills Schools et al., was filed on April 11, 2019, three days after the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services revoked all 14 of the school’s operating licenses following the exposure of widespread staff abuse.³⁴

The Two Funds and What They Pay For

The settlement created two separate pools of money, and eligible students could receive from both.⁵

The Compensatory Education Fund pays for or reimburses educational expenses. Approved uses include college or vocational tuition, tutoring, therapy, counseling, computers, job coaching, music and art programs, and educational evaluations. Students who had disabilities or were English learners while at Glen Mills receive additional funding for each school day they attended.⁶

The Education Damages Fund pays cash directly to former students. To draw from it, a claimant had to have experienced or observed physical abuse or physical restraints during school hours, or show that their school performance was materially affected by such incidents that occurred outside school hours.¹

How Award Amounts Were Calculated

Award amounts were driven by attendance. Each qualifying student’s share was calculated based on the number of school days they attended Glen Mills. If total eligible claims exceeded the available money, awards were reduced pro rata across claimants.⁵ Students who had disabilities or were English learners received extra credit for each day attended in the compensatory education calculation.⁶

How to File and Key Deadlines

Claiming required two separate forms, one for each fund, submitted through an online portal managed by a fund administrator.⁶

The dates:

Claim filing deadline: January 19, 2024.⁶
Award notification: qualifying students were to be notified of their award amounts by March 19, 2024.⁶
Cash payments: education damages payments were scheduled for distribution by April 18, 2024.⁶

The compensatory education money works differently from the cash damages. Rather than a lump payment, each qualifying student has an individual account they can draw from to cover approved educational expenses. Former students have six years from the date their account is created to spend the balance. Anything unused after six years reverts to the Chester County Intermediate Unit.⁶

Why CCIU Paid

The Chester County Intermediate Unit was the designated local educational agency for Glen Mills under a contract approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. That contract made CCIU responsible for ensuring students with disabilities at the school received a free, appropriate public education.⁵

The lawsuit alleged that CCIU failed to participate in Individualized Education Program meetings, ensure parent involvement, develop proper IEPs, provide related services, or monitor compliance with federal and state special education law. CCIU sought dismissal, arguing it was merely a “fiscal watchdog” without administrative control over Glen Mills’ educational programming. In December 2019, Judge Harvey Bartle III denied that motion, letting the claims proceed.²

When CCIU’s board approved the $3 million agreement on January 18, 2023, it did so without admitting liability.²

What the CCIU Settlement Does Not Cover

The $3 million agreement resolved only the education-related claims against CCIU. It was not a global settlement of the Glen Mills litigation, and other defendants paid separately.⁷

In May 2024, the district court denied class certification for the remaining claims, finding that the individual circumstances varied too much for a class proceeding. The court noted that the record was “replete with appalling incidents of widespread abuse, inadequate education, and disability discrimination,” but held that individual cases were the right path forward. The Third Circuit declined to hear an appeal of that ruling.⁷

On July 30, 2024, a separate settlement was reached with the Pennsylvania Department of Education and former leaders of the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. That agreement paid $450,000 in damages to the named individual plaintiffs only, not the broader class, and required the Department of Education to establish an Office of Program Monitoring and Accountability with a new complaint process for students in residential facilities.⁸ Remaining claims were voluntarily dismissed in February 2025, closing the case.³

If you were a former Glen Mills student and did not file by the January 19, 2024 deadline, the CCIU fund is closed. Questions about an existing compensatory education account, including how to submit expenses for approval within the six-year window, go through the fund administrator’s online portal.⁶

1
Juvenile Law Center. Chester County Intermediate Unit Approves $3 Million Settlement
2
Delaware County Times. Chester County Intermediate Unit Settles Glen Mills Suit
3
Juvenile Law Center. Glen Mills Schools
4
Philadelphia Inquirer. Glen Mills Schools License Closed PA Abuse Investigation DHS
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Education Law Center. Glen Mills CCIU Settlement Release
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Education Fund for Former Glen Mills Students. FAQ
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Education Law Center. Derrick et al. v. Glen Mills Schools et al.
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Juvenile Law Center. PA Settles Former Glen Mills Students $450,000 Creates New Monitoring Procedures