ACLU of Indiana wins court ruling against Indiana Department of Homeland Security

Logo for the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana. (Provided Photo/ACLU of Indiana via Facebook)

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A federal judge in Indiana ruled in favor of the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana (ACLU of Indiana), granting a preliminary injunction that prohibits the Indiana Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from imposing discriminatory building standards on a recovery home for men with disabilities.

On Nov. 5, Chief Judge Tanya Walton Pratt of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana issued the ruling, siding with the ACLU of Indiana in a lawsuit filed earlier this year on behalf of Next Step Recovery Homes.

The ACLU argued that DHS was unlawfully discriminating against Next Step by classifying its residential recovery facility as a Class 1 structure, giving it a designation with stricter and more costly building requirements solely because the home serves people recovering from substance use disorders.

Next Step is a nonprofit organization that operates a group home in Dubois County in partnership with Behind the Wire, a faith-based recovery services provider.

The home serves as a therapeutic residence for men recovering from addiction. In 2023, DHS classified the home as a Class 1″structure, which mandates stricter, more expensive building codes compared to the Class 2 classification that would apply to a typical family residence.

DHS’s decision was based on the fact that the residents of the home have disabilities, including those related to substance abuse recovery, said the ACLU of Indiana in a release.

Judge Pratt’s ruling mandates that the state treat Next Step’s home as a Class 2 structure, a classification that reflects its use as a residential recovery facility and carries fewer building requirements.

Ken Falk, legal director of the ACLU of Indiana, praised the ruling.

“Federal law guarantees that persons with disabilities may not be discriminated against,” Falk said. “Yet, the state of Indiana is imposing heightened burdens on the Next Step Recovery Home and its clients solely because they are persons with disabilities. This is unlawful.”

In her decision, Pratt indicated that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed in their claim of discrimination under federal law.

The ruling is a significant victory for the ACLU of Indiana, which has previously challenged similar practices by the state. In 2019, the organization won a similar case on behalf of New Horizons Rehabilitation, which serves people with disabilities. The ACLU of Indiana is currently representing four other group home providers in similar lawsuits against the DHS.