Baird v. Rose
| Citation | 192 F.3d 462 |
| Decision Date | 05 May 1999 |
| Docket Number | No. 98-2064,CA-98-588-A,98-2064 |
| Parties | (4th Cir. 1999) KRISTEN ELISABETH BAIRD, a minor by her next friend and parent, NANCY BAIRD, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. SUSAN ELIZABETH ROSE; INEZ COHEN; FAIRFAX COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD, and its Chairman, Defendants-Appellees, and KRISTEN J. AMUNDSON, Defendant. (). . Argued: |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (4th Circuit) |
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Alexandria.
[Copyrighted Material Omitted] COUNSEL ARGUED: Bernard Joseph DiMuro, DIMURO, GINSBERG & LIE-BERMAN, P.C., Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellants. John Francis Cafferky, HUNTON & WILLIAMS, McLean, Virginia, for Appellees. ON BRIEF: Thomas J. Cawley, HUNTON & WILLIAMS, McLean, Virginia, for Appellees.
Before ERVIN,* WILKINS, and KING, Circuit Judges.
Reversed in part, affirmed in part, and remanded for further proceedings by published opinion. Judge Wilkins wrote the opinion, in which Judge Ervin and Judge King joined.
Plaintiff Nancy Baird brought this action on behalf of her minor daughter Kristen Elisabeth Baird (Baird)1 against Baird's former teacher Susan Elizabeth Rose, Principal Inez Cohen, and the Fairfax County School Board (collectively, "Appellees") alleging claims for discrimination under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), see 42 U.S.C.A. § 12132 (West 1995), and intentional infliction of emotional distress under Virginia law. The district court granted Appellees' motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). We reverse in part and affirm in part.
Viewing Baird's complaint in the light most favorable to her, as we must, see Mylan Lab., Inc. v. Matkari, 7 F.3d 1130, 1134 (4th Cir. 1993), the complaint alleged the following facts. In the spring of 1996, while she was in the seventh grade at Rocky Run Middle School in Fairfax, Virginia, Baird auditioned for and was accepted to participate in show choir for the 1996-1997 school year. Show choir was a song and dance class for which grades were given; students learned song and dance routines and then performed them sometimes in competition with other schools. Rose was the instructor for show choir.
During auditions for show choir, Rose expressed concern to Baird's father that Baird's frequent absences posed a potential problem for her participation in show choir. Baird's father informed Rose that although Baird suffered from recurrent sinus infections that caused her to miss school frequently, she would have no difficulty keeping up with show choir.
During the following school year, Baird continued to miss school regularly due to her ongoing medical problems. In January 1997, however, she auditioned for a lead role in the Rocky Run Middle School spring play, a musical. Rose and two drama teachers had joint responsibility for assigning roles. Rose advised Baird that she would not be considered for a lead role due to her frequent absences. Following the initial audition, which involved no singing but only dramatic readings, Baird was asked to return to audition for an alto role although she is a soprano. On January 30, 1997, Baird learned that she had been chosen for only a minor role.
On January 31, 1997, Baird was absent from school due to a sinus infection, and her mother telephoned Rose to confirm that Baird had a bona fide medical excuse. The following day, Baird attempted suicide by taking an overdose of ibuprofen. The attempt was triggered by Baird's belief that Rose had arranged for her to fail in her efforts to secure a lead role in the spring play by convincing the drama teachers to ask her to audition for an alto role Rose knew Baird could not perform rather than a soprano role for which she was more qualified.
On February 7, 1997, Baird was diagnosed as suffering from severe depression and was placed on a treatment plan that included medication and counseling. On February 12, 1997, Baird's mother informed a counselor at the school of Baird's diagnosis. On that day and the following day, Baird was absent from school. Baird's mother gave her permission for the counselor to inform Baird's teachers of the diagnosis, and on February 13, 1997 Rose learned that Baird had been diagnosed with severe depression. The next day, when Baird returned to school, Rose announced to the entire class that Baird would not be permitted to participate in the next show choir performance, which was scheduled for February 25, 1997, explaining to Baird that this "would be best." J.A. 8 (internal quotation marks omitted). Rose thereafter assigned Baird's part to another student and forbade Baird to participate in rehearsal.
Baird's mother subsequently confronted Rose and asked that Baird be permitted to participate as usual. Rose stated that Baird did not know the dance routines well enough due to her absences. Baird's mother told Rose that her daughter in fact did know the routines, that she was capable of performing them, and that it was important to Bairds mental health and recovery that she be allowed to continue her participation in show choir. Baird's mother asked Rose to give Baird an opportunity to demonstrate that she was able to perform the dance routines. Rose refused, stating that she felt it would be best for Baird, given her depression, not to participate in show choir and that individuals who suffer from depression could not be counted on to meet their responsibilities.
On February 16 and 17, 1997, Baird's family doctor and psychologist submitted letters to Principal Cohen stating that Baird was fit to perform in show choir and that it could be detrimental to her mental health to be denied the opportunity to do so. On February 18, 1997, Baird's mother contacted Principal Cohen and requested, among other things, that Rose give Baird the opportunity to demonstrate her knowledge of the dance routines despite her absences and that Rose permit Baird to participate in the upcoming performance. Baird's mother stressed to Principal Cohen her concern that Rose might take further action that would cause Baird additional distress.
Instead of granting these requests, Principal Cohen informed Rose that she must either prohibit from participation in the performance all students who had been absent in accordance with Rose's written absence policy--which previously had not been enforced--or permit all students to perform. Later that day, Rose announced to the show choir class, in Baird's presence, that Rose was being forced to adhere to her previously published strict attendance policy although she did not wish to do so. Rose then pronounced that not only was Baird prohibited from participating in two of the three numbers in the upcoming performance, but three other students who had "legitimate" absences would be excluded from one number as well. Rose then asked the class members if they understood why she was being forced to adhere to the strict attendance policy, and other students commented that someone was taking advantage of the lax enforcement of the attendance policy and that someone did not know the routines and would slow down the performance of the group.
Humiliated, Baird left the class and telephoned her mother. Upon her mother's arrival at the school, Baird was exhibiting signs of severe emotional distress, crying uncontrollably and shaking. Baird's mother removed her from school for the rest of that day. After leaving school, Baird was unable to stop crying and a tranquilizer was prescribed by her doctor.
Baird's mother requested that Principal Cohen permit another adult to observe show choir class until Baird could be reassured that Rose would not embarrass her in front of her classmates again. When Baird's mother received no response, she took time off from work to observe the class herself. The following day Baird's grandmother attempted to attend show choir class but was prevented from doing so. Principal Cohen then contacted Baird's mother and informed her that she was barred from the school unless she received advance permission to be there. Rose, with Principal Cohen's approval, required Baird to sit during rehearsals through February 25, 1997. Baird also was not permitted to fully participate in the February 25 performance.
Due to the stress of this situation, Baird began to suffer severe sleeplessness, inability to sleep alone, decreased appetite, exhaustion, difficulty concentrating, fear of humiliation by other students, fear of humiliation by Rose, and a dramatic increase in the occurrence of physical illnesses. In addition, the quality of Baird's schoolwork began to suffer as a result of her exhaustion, difficulty concentrating, and increased physical illnesses. Her grades fell dramatically. Baird's mother took a leave of absence from work in order to ensure that Baird did not attempt suicide again.
Baird thereafter filed a Motion for Judgment2 against Appellees in state court, claiming a violation of the ADA and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Appellees removed the action to federal court, and the district court granted their motion to dismiss. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). The district court concluded that the allegations of Baird's complaint demonstrated that she was not discriminated against on the basis of her depression. The court ruled as follows:
[I]t [is] conclusive that the ultimate action of denying [Baird] ... participation in the school play was not based solely, if at all, on [her] alleged disability (viz., depression), but was supported by a valid and uniformly enforced policy of absenteeism.... Absenteeism was not only the articulated basis for defendants' initial action--before [Baird's] diagnosis with depression, but ... was also the basis for excluding three other students from various parts of the...
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