Doyle v. Arlington County School Bd.

Decision Date07 January 1992
Docket NumberNo. 90-2427,90-2427
Citation953 F.2d 100
Parties72 Ed. Law Rep. 44 Mairin DOYLE; Brian Doyle; Margaret Doyle, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. ARLINGTON COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD, Defendant-Appellee, and Arthur W. Gosling; John S. Davis; Virginia Department of Education, Defendants.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

Michael Jeffrey Eig, Bogin and Eig, Washington, D.C., argued (Matthew B. Bogin, Margaret A. Kohn, on brief), for plaintiffs-appellants.

John Francis Cafferky, Hunton & Williams, Fairfax, Va., argued (Thomas J. Cawley, Grady K. Carlson, on brief), for defendant-appellee.

Before WIDENER, Circuit Judge, CHAPMAN, Senior Circuit Judge, and MULLEN, District Judge for the Western District of North Carolina, sitting by designation.

OPINION

WIDENER, Circuit Judge:

Mairin Doyle and her parents, Brian and Margaret Doyle, appeal from the district court's judgment in favor of the Arlington County School Board, affirming the educational program proposed for Mairin by the Board. They argue on appeal that the district judge erred in not recusing himself, that the district court did not give proper deference to the factual findings of the hearing officer, and that there were substantive and procedural violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). 20 U.S.C. §§ 1400-1485. 1 We find no error on the question of recusal. However, we are of opinion the district court committed reversible error in not considering the administrative findings. Therefore, the district court judgment is vacated and the case is remanded with instructions that the district court give "due weight" to the administrative findings. We do not, at this time, consider the claimed procedural and substantive violations of the IDEA as the district court should first have an opportunity to reconsider its decision using the proper standard.

Mairin Doyle, now fourteen years old, is a profoundly learning disabled child as a result of the surgical removal of a malignant brain tumor in 1981 and subsequent chemotherapy and radiation therapy. In 1984, the Arlington County school system and the Doyles agreed on an Individualized Education Program (IEP) which provided that Mairin would attend Taylor Elementary School, a public school in Arlington County, with special education resource room support and occupational therapy for her first grade year in 1984-85. However, before the beginning of the 1984-85 school year, the Doyles changed their minds and decided to place Mairin at the Lab School of Washington, a private school for handicapped students in Washington, D.C. Mairin has attended the Lab School since first grade.

On June 28, 1988, the Doyles requested that the school system place and fund Mairin at the Lab School. At a two-day Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting held in December 1988, the school system proposed that an appropriate program was available for Mairin in a self-contained class taught by Charlotte Albright for learning disabled students at the Nottingham Elementary School. Nottingham is a public school and is located in Arlington County, approximately two miles from Mairin's home.

The Doyles objected to the IEP and Mairin's placement at Nottingham and requested an administrative hearing seeking public payment of Mairin's Lab School tuition and expenses for the 1988-89 school year. The local hearing officer, after taking evidence, decided in favor of the Doyles. The Board appealed the decision of the local hearing officer to a state level review officer. The review officer, who took no additional evidence, found that the Board's proposed school placement at Nottingham met the mandates of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

The Doyles then filed suit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on September 27, 1989. At trial, the full administrative record was submitted to the court. In addition, the parties presented the testimony of several witnesses. The district court agreed with the review officer and found no violation of the IDEA.

We find no merit to the Doyles' contention that the district judge erred in not disqualifying himself under 28 U.S.C. § 455(a). That statute provides that "[a]ny justice, judge, or magistrate of the United States shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned." 28 U.S.C § 455(a). The Doyles argued that since Judge Hilton had been a member of the Arlington County School Board when the Doyles first applied for special education services, his impartiality might reasonably be questioned.

Prior association with a party "does not, in itself, form a reasonable basis for questioning a judge's impartiality." Sierra Club v. Simkins Indus., 847 F.2d 1109, 1117 (4th Cir.1988) (citations omitted), cert. denied, 491 U.S. 904, 109 S.Ct. 3185, 105 L.Ed.2d 694 (1989). "[L]itigants are entitled to a judge free of personal bias, but not to a judge without any personal history before appointment to the bench." 847 F.2d at 1117.

We disagree, as a factual matter, with the Doyles' assertion that the judge was a member of the school board during a period of time "relevant to the dispute between the parents and Arlington Public Schools." Judge Hilton was a member of the Arlington School Board from 1980 through some time in 1984. The disputed facts in this case involve the years 1988-89. The only matter that dates back to 1984 is a stipulation by the parties that in 1984, the Doyles and the Arlington County school system agreed on an IEP which provided for Mairin's education at Taylor Elementary and that the Doyles decided instead to place Mairin at the Lab School of Washington. There was no dispute between the parties until June 29, 1988, when the Doyles asked that the Arlington schools pay for Mairin's education at the Lab School. Therefore, since Judge Hilton terminated his position as a member of the school board in 1984, prior to the arising of the dispute, and it not being shown that he knew anything about the facts or people involved, his impartiality may not reasonably be questioned. The district judge did not err in denying the Doyles' request that he disqualify himself under 28 U.S.C. § 455(a).

Next, we must determine what level of deference should be given to the administrative findings. Generally, in reviewing state administrative decisions in IDEA cases, courts are required to make an independent decision based on a preponderance of the evidence, while giving due weight to state administrative proceedings. Hendrick Hudson Dist. Bd. of Educ. v. Rowley, 458 U.S. 176, 206, 102 S.Ct. 3034, 3050, 73 L.Ed.2d 690 (1982); Spielberg v. Henrico County Pub. Sch., 853 F.2d 256, 258 (4th Cir.1988), cert. denied, 489 U.S. 1016, 109 S.Ct. 1131, 103 L.Ed.2d 192 (1989); Burke County Bd. of Educ. v. Denton, 895 F.2d 973, 981 (4th Cir.1990) (The reviewing court "makes a bounded, independent decision--'bounded by the administrative record and additional evidence, and independent by virtue of being based on a preponderance of the evidence before the court.' ") (quoting Town of Burlington v. Massachusetts Dep't of Educ., 736 F.2d 773, 791 (1st Cir.1984), aff'd sub nom. Burlington School Comm. v. Massachusetts Dep't of Educ., 471 U.S. 359, 105 S.Ct. 1996, 85 L.Ed.2d 385 (1985)).

The statements we have just quoted have come about by virtue of the plan for administrative and judicial review of decisions of local school boards with respect to the education of handicapped children. 20 U.S.C. § 1415(b)(2) provides in general that when parents or guardians have a complaint with respect to a decision under the statutes, they are entitled to an impartial due process hearing conducted by the state education agency or by the local education agency, as determined by state law, which shall not be conducted by an employee of the agency involved. Section 1415(c) provides that if any such hearing is conducted by the local education agency, an aggrieved party has a right to appeal to the state education agency which shall conduct an impartial review. The officer conducting such review shall make an independent decision. Section 1415(e)(2) provides that a party aggrieved by an administrative decision of the state agency may bring an action in a United States district court or a state court of competent jurisdiction, in which case the court "shall receive the records of the administrative proceedings, shall hear additional evidence at the request of a party, and, basing its decision on the preponderance of the evidence, shall grant such relief as the court determines is appropriate." With that in mind, Virginia has enacted Va.Code § 22.1-214, which provides in subsection B that the State Board of Education shall prescribe procedures to afford due process to handicapped children and their parents or guardians under the federal statute, as well as to school divisions. Subsection C provides that the State Board of Education may provide for final decisions to be made by a hearing officer. Subsection D provides for aggrieved parties to bring their suits in court and is parallel to 20 U.S.C. § 1415(e)(2) above mentioned. Pursuant to this statute, the State Board of Education has promulgated Regulations Governing Special Education Programs for Handicapped Children and Youth in Virginia. Section 3.5 of the Regulations is entitled "Procedural Safeguards" which govern hearings and appeals. Section 3.5(A)(5) provides that upon request, dissatisfaction with a local school board decision will be heard by a hearing officer appointed according to the Hearing Officer System of Rules of Administration Promulgated by the Supreme Court of Virginia, and subsection (10)(j) provides that a decision by the hearing officer is final unless appealed. Subsection (11) provides for an administrative appeal to the state agency which is conducted by a hearing officer from the same pool of...

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