Lauren W. ex rel. Jean W. v. Deflaminis

• Decision Date: 22 March 2007
• Docket Number: No. 05-3774.,No. 05-4009.,No. 05-4008.,05-3774.,05-4008.,05-4009.
• Citation: 480 F.3d 259
• Parties: LAUREN W., By and Through her Parents, Jean and James W.; JEAN W.; James W., On Their Own Behalf, Appellants in No. 05-3774 v. John A. DEFLAMINIS, Dr., In His Individual Capacity; Kitty Lugar, Dr., In her Individual Capacity; Radnor Township School District, Appellants in Nos. 05-4008 & 05-4009.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit

480 F.3d 259 LAUREN W., By and Through her Parents, Jean and James W.; JEAN W.; James W., On Their Own Behalf, Appellants in No. 05-3774
v.
John A. DEFLAMINIS, Dr., In His Individual Capacity; Kitty Lugar, Dr., In her Individual Capacity; Radnor Township School District, Appellants in Nos. 05-4008 & 05-4009. No. 05-3774. No. 05-4008. No. 05-4009. United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit. Argued December 13, 2006. Filed March 22, 2007.

[480 F.3d 262]

Stephen G. Rhoads, Catherine M. Reisman (argued), Katherine Skubecz, Montgomery, McCracken, Walker & Rhoads, Philadelphia, PA, Attorneys for Appellants in No. 05-3774 and Appellees in No. 05-4008 and No. 05-4009.

Ellis H. Katz (argued), Sweet, Stevens, Tucker & Katz, New Britain, PA, Attorneys for Appellees in No. 05-3774 and Appellants in No. 05-4008 and No. 05-4009.

Before FISHER, CHAGARES and GREENBERG, Circuit Judges.

GREENBERG, Circuit Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This matter comes on before the court on an appeal and cross-appeals from orders the district court entered on June 3, 2005, and July 21, 2005, which became final upon entry of judgment on August 1, 2005, in this case arising in a special education context. See Lauren W. v. DeFlaminis, 2005 WL 1353643 (E.D.Pa. June 1, 2005); Lauren W. v. DeFlaminis, 2005 WL 2989712 (E.D.Pa. July 20, 2005). The suit arose from long-lived and recurring disputes between the Radnor Township School District and the parents, James and Jean W., of a daughter, Lauren W. (collectively, appellants), entitled to and provided with a special education by the school district.¹ In addition to bringing this action against the school district, the appellants joined Dr. John DeFlaminis, the school district superintendent, and Dr. Kitty Lugar, its director of pupil services, as defendants in their individual capacities. When we refer to the "District" we are referring to all three defendants unless the context of the reference is such that it is clear that we are referring only to the school district or the individuals, as the case may be.

One of the principal issues in dispute is whether the District is obligated to reimburse appellants for Lauren's private school tuition that they incurred after Lauren's parents unilaterally withdrew her

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from public school, and, if so, whether the District also must provide compensatory education for services it did not provide during Lauren's private school education. Appellants' other main contention is that the District denied Lauren special education services in retaliation for their attempts to enforce Lauren's rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ("IDEA"), 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq., and thus is liable in damages to the appellants for that reason. The District has counterclaimed seeking to recover a portion of the private school tuition that it paid on Lauren's behalf. Moreover, in its counterclaim the District appeals from an administrative decision requiring it to reimburse appellants for tuition they paid for other years. For the reasons that follow, we will affirm the orders and judgment of the district court.

II. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The following historical and procedural events have taken the case to its present posture. Lauren is a 20-year old student who resides within the Radnor Township School District. She suffers from a variety of conditions that have effects entitling her to a free and appropriate education ("FAPE") pursuant to the IDEA. It is undisputed that the District is the local education agency responsible for providing a FAPE to Lauren.

Lauren attended private school until the fifth grade, but in 1996, when she was ten years old, she entered schooling programs that the District directly provided and attended Radnor Middle School through the seventh grade. Thereafter, however, Lauren's parents, apparently dissatisfied with the Individual Education Program ("IEP") that the District proposed, unilaterally placed her at the Hill Top Preparatory School ("Hill Top"), a private school in Rosemont, Pennsylvania, for the 1999-2000 school year, her eighth grade.

Lauren's parents paid the Hill Top tuition for the 1999-2000 school year but requested a special education due process hearing in which they could seek reimbursement from the District for that tuition. The parties, however, negotiated a settlement of that claim and consequently the hearing was discontinued. Under the settlement, the District agreed to pay the Hill Top tuition for the 1999-2000 school year and certain of her parents' attorney's fees in lieu of its obligation to provide a FAPE for that year. On the other hand, Lauren's parents waived all of their federal and state claims relating to Lauren's placement through the 1999-2000 school year. In accordance with its agreement, the District issued a check to appellants for $21,975 on November 15, 2000, to cover the 1999-2000 Hill Top tuition.²

By the time the District issued the tuition check, Lauren's ninth-grade (2000-2001) school year had begun. Lauren remained at Hill Top that year and her parents again paid her tuition and again sought reimbursement from the District. In November 2000 the school board approved reimbursement for Lauren's ninth grade at Hill Top but from December 2000 until February 2002 the parties could not reach a final agreement with respect to the terms for the District to reimburse appellants for the tuition for the 2000-2001 school year because appellants would not

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agree to a waiver-of-rights clause for that year similar to the one in the 1999-2000 agreement. In particular, appellants objected to waiving Lauren's right to "related services"³ beyond the Hill Top curriculum, as they believed that Lauren needed these services to meet her educational needs. The District, however, would not accept the agreement to fund the 2000-2001 Hill Top placement without the waiver clause. As the dispute continued, Lauren began the tenth grade at Hill Top with her parents paying the 2001-2002 tuition.

With resolution of the dispute over reimbursement of Lauren's parents for the 2000-2001 and 2001-2002 school years in limbo, the District on May 28, 2002, proposed an IEP for the 2002-2003 school year (eleventh grade). This IEP proposed placing Lauren in a public school Bridge Program. Appellants, however, were not satisfied with the proposed IEP and consequently sought a due process hearing to address their concerns.

Inasmuch as the District refused to fund the Hill Top placement pending due process review, on July 18, 2002, Lauren's parents filed an action in the district court petitioning for a judgment declaring that Hill Top was Lauren's "pendent placement" under 20 U.S.C. § 1415(j)⁴ and seeking injunctive relief requiring the District to fund Lauren's placement at Hill Top until they resolved the dispute over the 2002-2003 tuition. This action was successful and the district court granted appellants the relief they sought. Lauren W. v. Bd. of Educ. of Radnor Twp. Sch. Dist., 2002 WL 32130764 (E.D.Pa. Sept.12, 2002). On September 16, 2003, in further proceedings the district court clarified that the District's responsibility to pay Lauren's tuition at Hill Top extended to the 2003-2004 school year pending final judicial review as to the appropriateness of the IEP. Lauren W. v. DeFlaminis, 2003 WL 22387406 (E.D.Pa. Sept.16, 2003). In compliance with the district court's pendency decisions, the District paid the Hill Top tuition for the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 school years.

The parties engaged in an administrative due process hearing extending over five separate sessions from July 22, 2002, until October 22, 2002, relating to the years after the 1999-2000 school year. This hearing culminated in a hearing officer making the following determinations: (1) the 2000 settlement agreement barred litigation of claims that pre-dated the execution of the agreement; (2) the District was responsible for Lauren's Hill Top tuition for the 2000-2001 and 2001-2002 school years that appellants had advanced to Hill Top; (3) the proposed IEP for the 2002-2003 school year was appropriate; and (4) Lauren was not entitled to related services or compensatory education for the time she spent at Hill Top. Both parties appealed from the hearing officer's decision to the Pennsylvania Special Education Appeals Panel which, on January 22, 2003, affirmed the hearing officer's decision.

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On March 11, 2003, appellants initiated the civil action leading to this appeal in the district court seeking review of the administrative decision (Count I); a declaratory judgment regarding Lauren's pendent placement (Count II); damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for the District's alleged retaliation against them in violation of the First Amendment (Count III); damages for retaliation in violation of section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. § 794(a) (Count IV); and claims pursuant to section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for the District's violation of its "child find" duty (Count V). The District answered and filed the two counterclaims that we already have described. The District predicated one counterclaim on an unjust enrichment theory in which it sought the return of a portion of the Hill Top tuition that it paid pursuant to one of the district court's orders to which we refer above. The District predicated its second counterclaim, constituting an appeal from the administrative decision awarding appellants reimbursement of the 2000-2001 and 2001-2002 Hill Top tuition, on the theory that the Hill Top placement was not appropriate. On October 19, 2004, the parties filed cross-motions for disposition of Count I of the complaint on the administrative record. The District also sought summary judgment on appellants' remaining counts.

On June 3, 2005, the district court upheld the administrative decision in all aspects. The court, however, deemed Count II of appellants' complaint...