Mrs. C. on Behalf of J.C. v. Wheaton
| Decision Date | 16 October 1990 |
| Docket Number | D,No. 123,123 |
| Parties | 63 Ed. Law Rep. 93 MRS. C. on her own behalf and as mother and guardian on Behalf of J.C., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Amy WHEATON, Commissioner, State of Connecticut Department of Children and Youth Services, et al., Defendants-Appellees. ocket 90-7289. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit |
Douglas M. Crockett, Conn. Legal Services, Willimantic, Conn. (Bet Gailor, Protection & Advocacy, Hartford, Conn., Margaret Zerhan, Conn. Legal Services, Bridgeport, Conn., of counsel), for plaintiff-appellant.
Ralph E. Urban, Asst. Atty. Gen. of State of Conn., Hartford, Conn. (Clarine Nardi Riddle, Atty. Gen. of State of Conn., John R. Whelan, Asst. Atty. Gen., of counsel), for defendants-appellees.
Before FEINBERG and CARDAMONE, Circuit Judges, and RE, Chief Judge. *
Plaintiff Mrs. C., who sues on behalf of herself and J.C. as his parent and legal guardian, appeals from an order of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut, Jose A. Cabranes, J., dismissing Mrs. C.'s complaint against defendants Connecticut Department of Children and Youth Services (the Department) and its Commissioner, the Department's Unified School District II and its Superintendent, and the Connecticut State Board of Education and its Commissioner. The complaint alleges in relevant part that defendants, in terminating J.C.'s educational placement, violated the Education of the Handicapped Act, 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq. (EHA), section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. Sec. 794, and due process; the complaint seeks declaratory relief and compensatory education. The district court held that appellees were not required to comply with EHA procedural safeguards before terminating J.C.'s special education program because he had reached the age of majority (18) and was not an adjudicated incompetent, and had agreed to the termination. The district court also held that J.C.'s claim for declaratory relief was moot because an individual over the age of 21 has no right to a free public education, and the one exception to this rule, compensatory education awarded after gross violation of the EHA, did not apply. The court accordingly found no statutory or due process violation and dismissed the complaint. For reasons given below, we reverse the judgment of the district court.
J.C. is a functionally retarded, learning-disabled 22-year old. A psychiatric assessment found that J.C., at age 20, faced a marked deficit in adaptive behavior and functioned on the average like a 10- or 11-year old.
The background leading to the termination of J.C.'s educational program, according to the complaint and other documents before us, is as follows. J.C. was adopted by his maternal grandparents, but they were unable to continue to provide a home for him. At age four, J.C. was committed to the custody of the Department. The Department placed J.C. in various institutions throughout his childhood, and in 1985 placed him at the Eagleton School (Eagleton), a private school in Massachusetts.. J.C. remained at Eagleton until August 1988, at which point he was 20-years old.
In July 1988, a Department worker went to a meeting at Eagleton, in his words, "to suggest a firm discharge plan for J.C." At the meeting, school staff described J.C. as "more destructive to property and ... becoming more and more unmanageable." J.C. expressed his desire during the meeting to live with his natural mother, Mrs. C., but some of those present at the meeting stated that they would not recommend that J.C. be placed in her custody. The Department social worker and J.C. reached an agreement to terminate J.C.'s placement at Eagleton in August 1988, and the Department informed Mrs. C. that it was discharging J.C. into her custody. The Eagleton discharge summary states that the Department placed J.C. with Mrs. C., because "at present a transitional living program has not been found [for J.C.]."
Since J.C. was a ward of the state, a surrogate parent had been appointed for him to represent him in the decision-making process concerning his special education. 1 After J.C.'s placement at Eagleton was terminated, Mrs. C. was appointed as J.C.'s conservator. The termination of J.C.'s placement occurred without the involvement of J.C.'s surrogate parent or his mother, neither of whom was provided with notice or an opportunity to participate in the termination decision.
Mrs. C. challenged the termination in an administrative hearing conducted by the Connecticut State Board of Education. The hearing officer held that J.C. had himself terminated his educational placement at Eagleton and was not entitled to compensatory education. Mrs. C. then brought this action in the district court, appealing the hearing officer's decision and seeking the relief described above. Upon defendants' motion, the court dismissed the complaint, holding that J.C.'s rights had not been violated.
Congress enacted the EHA in response to the wholesale exclusion of handicapped children--particularly those who were emotionally disturbed--from education programs. Honig v. Doe, 484 U.S. 305, 309, 108 S.Ct. 592, 596, 98 L.Ed.2d 686 (1988). The EHA provides federal funds to states that promise to provide at minimum a "free appropriate public education" for all handicapped children within the state. 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1412(1). Connecticut has chosen to participate in the EHA and has enacted legislation to implement the Act's requirements. See Conn.Gen.Stat. Sec. 10-76h. For handicapped children between the ages of 18 and 21, inclusive, the state need not provide a free educational placement if it would be inconsistent with state law or practice. See 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1412(2)(B). Under Connecticut law, a handicapped student already under the care of the Department retains eligibility for placement until reaching his twenty-first birthday if he remains voluntarily and the Commissioner of the Department, in his discretion, decides that the student would benefit from further care and support of the Department. Conn.Gen.Stat. Sec. 17-419(d). 2
The EHA imposes a number of procedural requirements on participating states in order to safeguard a student's right to education. 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1415; Board of Education of Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley, 458 U.S. 176, 182-84, 102 S.Ct. 3034, 3038-39, 73 L.Ed.2d 690 (1982). The procedural safeguards "guarantee parents both an opportunity for meaningful input into all decisions affecting their child's education and the right to seek review of any decisions they think inappropriate." Honig, 484 U.S. at 311-12, 108 S.Ct. at 597-98.
The EHA procedural safeguards begin with the individualized education program (IEP). "The Act contains a strong focus on involving the handicapped child's parents, teacher, and a representative of the local educational agency in the formulation of an [IEP] tailored to the particular needs of the handicapped student." Mrs. W. v. Tirozzi, 832 F.2d 748, 751 (2d Cir.1987). The IEP must specify the instructional goals and objectives, any special services to be provided and criteria for progress evaluation. See Sec. 1401(19).
If there is any proposed change in a child's IEP, the parent or guardian must be so notified in writing, Sec. 1415(b)(1)(C), and provided with an opportunity to bring complaints about "any matter relating to the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of the child, or the provision of a free appropriate public education to such child," Sec. 1415(b)(1)(E). The parent or guardian then has a right to contest the matter in an impartial due process hearing conducted by the state educational agency. Sec. 1415(b)(2). During the pendency of these proceedings, the child must be allowed to remain in his current educational placement under the "stay-put" provision of the Act, Sec. 1415(e)(3), unless the parent or guardian otherwise agrees.
Any party who is "aggrieved by the findings and decision" of the state administrative hearing may bring an action in state or federal court. Sec. 1415(e)(2). A party may thus seek redress in the federal courts for the state's failure to provide any of the EHA procedural safeguards. See, e.g., Burr by Burr v. Ambach, 863 F.2d 1071, 1076 (2d Cir.1988), vacated sub nom. Sobol v. Burr, --- U.S. ----, 109 S.Ct. 3209, 106 L.Ed.2d 560 (1989), reaff'd, Burr by Burr v. Sobol, 888 F.2d 258 (2d Cir.1989), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 110 S.Ct. 1298, 108 L.Ed.2d 475 (1990). This is because there is an enforceable substantive right to a "free appropriate public education," 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400(c); Tirozzi, 832 F.2d at 751, and such an education must satisfy the IEP requirements and other EHA procedural safeguards, Rowley, 458 U.S. at 203-07, 102 S.Ct. at 3049-51.
The complaint alleges that defendants terminated J.C.'s educational placement at Eagleton without complying with any of the EHA procedural safeguards, including the "stay-put" provision. Neither J.C.'s mother nor his surrogate parent was provided with notice of the change in J.C.'s placement and there was no IEP meeting discussing the termination. The complaint also alleges that J.C. "lacked the capacity" to make the termination decision on his own.
The district court found that the allegations of the complaint did not amount to a claim that J.C. was, as a matter of law, legally incompetent to make such a decision, since J.C. admittedly was over the age of majority when the termination decision was made, and was not an adjudicated incompetent. The district court then dismissed the EHA claim after holding that the EHA procedural safeguards such as the "stay-put" provision are not applicable when a legally competent adult chooses to leave an institution.
Appellant argues that the district court erred in dismissing the complaint because it clearly stated a claim for relief under the...
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