Durham Public Schools violated law for detained students at Youth Home, state says

An investigation into the treatment of incarcerated youth has found officials at the Durham County Youth Home broke the law.

On April 24, the N.C. Department of Public Instruction (DPI) released a final report confirming that students at the Youth Home were denied the “free appropriate public education” they are legally guaranteed, even while detained. Many of the students had a disability.

The investigation was launched after the ACLU of North Carolina and the Duke Children’s Law Clinic filed a state complaint against Durham Public Schools (DPS) for what they said was a failure to properly educate students with disabilities by isolating and confining them in their cells for 22 to 24 hours every day from February to March 2025.

DPI’s findings

The Youth Home is a juvenile detention center that serves students with and without disabilities pending a court disposition. It houses an average of 17 residents between 10 and 17 years old who face behavioral, emotional and/or social challenges.

DPI investigators found that while DPS teachers were “available and prepared each day” to provide six hours of instruction, they were physically barred from reaching their students. Since the Youth Home policy typically restricts teachers to specific programming centers, students confined to their housing pods during the lockdown were left in an educational vaccuum.

The report describes a failed attempt by educators to bridge the gap. According to the findings:

• Virtual learning was rejected because computers were located in the barred programming centers, not the housing units.
• Paper instructional packers were denied because the facility deemed providing pens or pencils a safety risk
• Small-group instruction within the housing pods was refused for unspecified “safety reasons”

DPS said the findings show a breakdown in how the school district and the detention facility handle education when lockdowns halt normal operations.

Investigators found “no written documentation to support the requests” DPS said it made to the Youth Home was provided. DPI also wrote there were “no clear procedures documenting the conditions upon which access to students for the purposes of delivering educational services will be limited, occur differently, or will be made up once unique circumstances such as lockdowns occur.”

Based on the investigation, DPI found the district violated federal regulations requiring Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) to be in effect and implemented.

The News & Observer reached out to DPS on Wednesday morning for a response to the department’s finding and is awaiting a reply.

Corrective action ordered by May 15

DPI directed Durham Public Schools to work with the Youth Home staff to write detailed procedures for future lockdowns and other disruptions.

“By May 15, 2026, in collaboration with staff from (Youth Home), DPS will draft procedures to address the expectations when the Youth Home has a lockdown or other circumstance that suspends educational services,” the report reads.

The procedures must cover when access will be restricted, alternative service delivery, and “compensatory services when services cannot be delivered as scheduled.”

DPI also required documentation showing which students missed services, how much was missed and how missed services were provided.

After DPI approves the draft, DPS must train staff involved with the Youth Home and submit sign-in sheets by June 1. The complaint will remain open until the corrective action is completed, and DPI warned that failure to implement the corrective action will result in sanctions under state law.

“Children should not bear the consequences of systemic failures,” said Peggy Nicholson, an attorney at the Duke Children’s Law Clinic. “We hope DPI’s corrective action leads to stronger coordination and oversight that ensures all future students with disabilities receive the educational services they need and are legally required to receive.”

This story was originally published April 29, 2026 at 10:04 AM with the headline "Durham Public Schools violated law for detained students at Youth Home, state says."

Kristen Johnson

The News & Observer

919-829-4532

Kristen Johnson is a local government reporter covering Durham for The News & Observer. She previously covered Cary and western Wake County. Prior to coming home to the Triangle, she reported for The Fayetteville Observer and spent time covering politics and culture in Washington, D.C. She is an alumna of UNC at Charlotte and American University.