February 14, 2005 – Initial Filing
July 2006 – Judge Patel appoints YELP (Bill Koski) as counsel for plaintiff D.J.
November 30, 2006 – Settlement Agreement entered as an order of the court
Limited jurisdiction of the court continuing

When D.J., a student with significant mobility and visual impairments, was a 16 year-old sophomore, he had difficulty accessing parts of the high school facilities and much of his curriculum due to his disabilities. So limited was his access, he had brought a federal lawsuit against the school district under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. In that lawsuit, YELP was appointed by Judge Marilyn Hall Patel to represent D.J. After extensive motion practice and expert witness fact development, the parties entered an intensive mediation in which they hammered out a settlement that provided for specific remedial actions to allow D.J. access to the school’s facilities, judicial oversight of D.J.’s comprehensive educational plan that allowed him access to his coursework, and a dispute resolution system that would ensure fast and efficient resolution of the many issues that would arise regarding D.J.’s access to the curriculum. Through D.J.’s perseverance and YELP’s assistance, D.J. graduated from high school and will be attending the University of California, Berkeley in Fall 2009.