WHITEHEAD BY AND THROUGH v. SCHOOL BD. HILLSBOROUGH

Citation918 F. Supp. 1515
Decision Date19 March 1996
Docket NumberNo. 94-241-CIV-T-17C.,94-241-CIV-T-17C.
PartiesAndrew K. WHITEHEAD, a minor, By and Through his parents and next friends, Dr. Keith D. WHITEHEAD and Nikole Whitehead; and Dr. Keith D. Whitehead and Nikole Whitehead, for themselves, Plaintiffs, v. SCHOOL BOARD FOR HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FLORIDA, Defendant.
CourtUnited States District Courts. 11th Circuit. United States District Court of Middle District of Florida

Laura Lee Whiteside, Laura L. Whiteside, P.A., Tampa, FL, for Andrew K. Whitehead, Keith D. Whitehead and Nikole Whitehead.

Gregory Alan Hearing, Thomas M. Gonzalez, Thompson, Sizemore & Gonzalez, P.A., Tampa, FL, Walter Crosby Few, Few & Ayala, Tampa, FL, for School Board for Hillsborough County.

Thomas M. Gonzalez, Thompson, Sizemore & Gonzalez, P.A., Tampa, FL, for W. Crosby Few.

ORDER ON DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND ON DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO STRIKE PLAINTIFFS' REQUEST FOR JURY TRIAL

KOVACHEVICH, Chief Judge.

This cause comes before the Court on Defendant's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Docket No. 39) and Plaintiffs' response (Docket Nos. 42 & 43), and on Defendant's Motion to Strike Plaintiffs' Request for Jury Trial (Docket No. 38), and Plaintiffs' response (Docket No. 41).

I. FACTS

Andrew K. Whitehead, Plaintiff, is a child who resides in Hillsborough County, Florida, and attends Mintz Elementary School in Hillsborough County, Florida. His date of birth is August 30, 1987. Dr. Keith D. Whitehead and Nikole Whitehead are Andrew's parents. Plaintiff, Andrew Whitehead, was born with Down syndrome and has disabilities related to that condition, and therefore, he is a child with disabilities as defined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1401(a)(1)(A) (hereinafter "IDEA").

Mintz Elementary School is a public school operated by Defendant, School Board for Hillsborough County, Florida. Defendant receives financial assistance from the United States federal government which assistance is made available through IDEA. 20 U.S.C. § 1400-1415. Consequently, Defendant is subject to the provisions of IDEA and is required to provide a free appropriate public education, as defined in 20 U.S.C. § 1401(a)(18), to all children with disabilities. Further, as a state agency that has accepted federal financial assistance in respect to programs at Mintz Elementary School, Defendant is prohibited under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794 (hereinafter "§ 504"), from discriminating against persons with disabilities.

In 1992 and 1993, a dispute arose between Plaintiffs and Defendant over Defendant's provision of special educational services to Plaintiff. The dispute culminated in the parties' participation in a due process hearing pursuant to 20 U.S.C. § 1415(b)(2), before Mr. James E. Bradwell, a Hearing Officer with the State of Florida Division of Administrative Hearings. The hearing was held on September 24, 1993 and September 28, 1993. On January 11, 1994, Mr. Bradwell issued a Final Order on the issues pending before him in the due process hearing, which issues included the appropriate level and manner of special educational services provided by Defendant to Plaintiff. In addition, Mr. Bradwell identified numerous violations of law by Defendant, including: bad faith (Final Order ¶ 67), deprivation of Andrew's right to a free appropriate public education (Final Order ¶ 68), discrimination against Andrew due to his handicap (Final Order ¶ 79), and retaliation against Plaintiffs (Final Order ¶ 80).

On February 7, 1994, Defendant appealed the portion of the Final Order dealing with the Hearing Officer's determination that Plaintiffs were entitled to an award of attorney's fees to the State of Florida Second District Court of Appeal. On February 14, 1994, Plaintiffs cross-appealed the Final Order asserting that the Hearing Officer erred in failing to award them a greater amount of compensatory damages. On November 10, 1994, the Second District entered an Order dismissing Defendant's appeal, stating that it was from a non-appealable, non-final Order. In the same Order, the Second District dismissed Plaintiffs' cross-appeal stating that it did not present a justiciable issue.

On February 10, 1994, Plaintiffs filed this lawsuit seeking to enforce the provisions of IDEA and § 504, (Docket No. 1). In Count I of the Complaint, Plaintiffs seek an award of attorneys fees under IDEA, alleging that they were prevailing parties in the due process hearing held in September, 1993, before Hearing Officer Bradwell. In Count II of the Complaint, Plaintiffs seek compensatory and/or punitive damages under IDEA and attorneys' fees and costs associated with the pursuit of IDEA damages. Finally, in Count III of the Complaint, Plaintiffs seek an award of compensatory and/or punitive damages under § 504 for alleged intentional discrimination and retaliatory conduct. Plaintiffs also seek an award of attorneys' fees and costs for pursuit of § 504 damages.

II. SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Under Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c), summary judgment is proper, "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." The plain language of Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c) has been interpreted by the Supreme Court to mandate entry of summary judgment after adequate time for discovery, against a party who fails to establish the existence of an element essential to the party's case and on which they will bear the burden of proof at trial. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).

In this case, Defendant has asked for summary judgment pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 56 on Counts II and III of Plaintiffs' Complaint. Defendant asserts that Plaintiffs' request for compensatory and punitive damages under IDEA and § 504 is improper since neither compensatory nor punitive damages are remedies available under IDEA and § 504. If damage remedies are not available under IDEA and § 504, Plaintiffs cannot proceed on Counts II and III of their complaint since the availability of damages under IDEA and § 504 is an element that is essential to their case.

A. Count II: Claim for damages under IDEA

The stated purpose of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1400-1415, is

to assure that all handicapped children have available to them ... a free appropriate public education which emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs, to assure that the rights of handicapped children and their parents or guardians are protected, to assist States and localities to provide for the education of all handicapped children, and to assess and assure the effectiveness of efforts to educate handicapped children.

20 U.S.C. § 1400(c). To guarantee the manifestation of the aforementioned purpose, any state or local agency receiving federal assistance must, in accordance with the requirements of 20 U.S.C. § 1415, establish and maintain "procedural safeguards." 20 U.S.C. § 1415(a). These procedures include not only the right of the parents to participate in the development of an "individualized education program" (IEP), but also, the requirement that parents be given an opportunity to contest any matter that relates to the provision of a "free appropriate education" for the child. 20 U.S.C. § 1415(b). If the parents of a handicapped child decide to bring a complaint, they must be given an "impartial due process hearing." 20 U.S.C. § 1415(b)(2). Upon completion of the administrative process, "any party aggrieved by the findings and decision ... shall have the right to bring a civil action with respect to the complaint" in either state or federal court which shall "receive the records of the administrative proceedings ... and, basing its decision on the preponderance of the evidence, shall grant such relief as the court determines is appropriate." 20 U.S.C. § 1415(e)(2).

The issue in this case is whether "appropriate" relief includes the recovery of compensatory and punitive damages which Plaintiffs request in Count II of their complaint. If such damages are not available under IDEA, Plaintiffs have failed to establish an essential element of their case, and under Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c) and the standard set forth in Celotex, Defendant is entitled to summary judgment on Count II of Plaintiffs' complaint.

In Powell v. Defore, 699 F.2d 1078, 1080 (11th Cir.1983), the court noted that "as a general rule, compensatory damages are not available under the IDEA" (citing Anderson v. Thompson, 658 F.2d 1205, 1208-11 (7th Cir.1981)). In Anderson, the court examined the language, legislative history, and goals of IDEA, in concluding that, "damages, however limited, are not within the scope of relief authorized by § 1415(e)(2), absent exceptional circumstances." 658 F.2d at 1210-11. First, according to the Anderson court, the statutory language and the context in which the words appear demonstrate that Congress did not intend to "create any type of educational malpractice action," but instead, "designed a multi-level procedure through which an aggrieved parent can ultimately seek an `appropriate' program decision from the district court." Id. at 1211.

Second, the court examined the legislative history of IDEA and determined that the phrase, "all appropriate relief," was intended by Congress to emphasize that a district judge could "adopt the program offered by the school district or the program advocated by the parents, or that he could ... devise any program which in his view would ensure an appropriate individualized educational program." Id. at 1211-12. The court noted that the Senate Conference Report makes no mention of damages, nor is there "other evidence of any explicit intent to establish a damage remedy." Id. at 1212. The "overriding congressional concern was meeting the needs of...

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