The U.S. Department of Justice this week reached a settlement with the Lewiston Public Schools aimed at ending what investigators described as a “systemic and discriminatory practice” of excluding students from school for full days because of behaviors related to disabilities.

The settlement will also mandate the district provide equal educational opportunities to students for whom English is not their primary language.

The department conducted its investigation in response to a complaint lodged in 2016 by Disability Rights Maine, a nonprofit advocacy group.

Lewiston Public Schools Superintendent K. Jake Langlais said the district has made strides in its educational programming.