Cornelius J. J. v. Hous. Indep. Sch. Dist.

• Decision Date: 01 November 2017
• Docket Number: CIVIL ACTION NO. 4:16-cv-02828
• Citation: 333 F.Supp.3d 674
• Parties: RENEE J. and Cornelius J. as Parents/Guardians/Next Friends of C.J., A Minor Individual With a Disability, Plaintiffs, v. HOUSTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Texas

333 F.Supp.3d 674

RENEE J. and Cornelius J. as Parents/Guardians/Next Friends of C.J., A Minor Individual With a Disability, Plaintiffs,

v.HOUSTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT, Defendant.

CIVIL ACTION NO. 4:16-cv-02828

United States District Court, S.D. Texas, Houston Division.

Signed November 1, 2017

Sonja Darling Kerr, Cuddy Law Firm, Austin, TX, for Plaintiffs.

Amy Joyce Tucker, Rogers, Morris & Grover, L.L.P., Houston, TX, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM AND OPINION

Lee H. Rosenthal, Chief United States District Judge

This is one of many cases asking a court to determine if a public school has met its obligation under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq., to give a student with disabilities a free appropriate public education. The parents of C.J., a student with disabilities, are dissatisfied with the education and services C.J. received from the Houston Independent School District. C.J.’s parents asked for homebound education services for their son, and the District denied the request. The District held a four-day due process hearing, at which the hearing officer received evidence. The hearing officer issued a written decision in the District’s favor. The parents appeal on C.J.’s behalf. The parties have cross-moved for summary judgment.

Based on careful consideration of the pleadings; the parties' motions, responses, and replies; the record; the arguments of counsel; and the applicable law, the court grants the District’s motion for summary judgment and denies C.J.’s cross-motion. The issues presented and the reasons for the ruling are analyzed below.

I. Background

C.J. is now a 17-year old high-school student in the Houston Independent School District. (Docket Entry No. 6-1 at 55). C.J. qualifies for special education services. His diagnoses include autism

, emotional disturbance, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. (Docket Entry No. 6-1 at 57, 94). C.J. attended FM Black Middle School for 8th grade during the 2014-2015 school year, when he was 14 years old. (Docket Entry No. 27-1 at 2). In October 2014, the District held C.J.’s annual Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) meeting to discuss his Individualized Education Plan. (Docket Entry No. 6-19 at 23). The ARD Committee heard from C.J., his teacher, Ms. O'Finan, and C.J.’s parents, (Id. at 54, 61, and 63), and decided on a Plan to address C.J.’s academic, vocational, and behavioral needs. (Id. at 23-58). The Plan included steps for post-high school transition work, based on C.J.’s interest in a law-enforcement career. (Id. at 30, 38, 61). The Plan included specific considerations of C.J.’s autism diagnosis, as required by the Texas Autism Supplement, a regulation that provides 11 strategies that an ARD Committee must consider when crafting a Plan for a student with autism. (Id. at 41); 19 Tex. Admin. Code § 89.1055(e).

In November 2014, C.J.’s behavior began to deteriorate. Ms. O'Finan, who taught him Skills for Living and Learning, met with C.J.’s mother to discuss his behavior. (Docket Entry No. 27-6 at 1). In January 2015, C.J.’s mother complained to the school that C.J. was being harassed and bullied, including by his teachers' assistants. (Docket Entry No.27-14at5-6). She complained that the harassment had caused C.J. to "melt down" the day before. (Id. ). C.J.’s mother wanted her son to be "placed in homebound" because of bullying at school. (Id. ). A few days later, C.J.’s parents began keeping him home from school. (Docket Entry No. 27-3 at 4). The school worked with the parents to accommodate their request for homebound services, but ultimately denied the request during an ARD meeting on April 30, 2015. The stated reason was the absence of documents from C.J.’s doctors to show that he was confined to home and unable to attend school due to a medical need. This documentation is required to qualify a student for homebound services under the District’s written policy. (Docket Entry Nos. 27-9 at 33; 27-14 at 11-21; 27-19 at 6-40). By April 2015, C.J. had missed a significant amount of the spring semester.

At the April 2015 meeting, the ARD Committee created a transition plan to facilitate C.J.’s return to school. (Docket Entry No. 27-9 at 5). C.J. returned to school for one day in May 2015, but his parents continued to keep him home after that. (Docket Entry No. 52-2 at 289). Another ARD meeting was held in June to discuss whether C.J. should advance to 9th grade. (Docket Entry No. 27-20). The ARD Committee recommended that C.J. participate in Extended School Year Services over the summer to make up for his absence in the spring semester. (Docket Entry No. 27-20 at 17). The District contacted C.J.’s parents to inform them that he had been approved for Extended School Year Services. (Docket Entry No. 27-6 at 4). An email exchange between the District and C.J.’s mother about where C.J. would get these services followed, but C.J. never attended the program. (Docket Entry No. 6-24 at 74-76).

The ARD Committee met again in August 2015 to discuss C.J.’s transition to the 9th grade at Booker T. Washington High School. (Docket Entry No. 6-20 at 89). C.J.’s new Individualized Education Plan added compensatory time to make up for C.J.’s absences in the 8th grade and steps to continue revising the Plan goals based on information that was unavailable because of his absences. (Docket Entry No. 6-21 at 20-21).

The first few weeks of 9th grade went smoothly, until C.J. punched another student. (Docket Entry No. 52-2 at 413). C.J.’s parents again kept him home from school for a few days. (Docket Entry No. 26-6 at 5). The District reevaluated C.J. on October 28, 2015. (Docket Entry No. 6-13 at 32). The ARD Committee met the next day to discuss the evaluation and to update C.J.’s Individualized Education Plan. (Docket Entry No. 6-21 at 80). C.J.’s parents remained dissatisfied. In December 2015, they made a formal request for a due-process hearing. (Docket Entry No. 6-1 at 12). A four-day evidentiary hearing was held in May 2016. (Docket Entry No. 6-1 at 2).

The hearing officer found for the District after considering testimony from 21 witnesses and thousands of pages of exhibits. (Docket Entry No. 6-1 at 2; Docket Entry No. 52). C.J. presented an expert witness, and both parties submitted written closing arguments. (Docket Entry No. 6-1 at 2). In the decision issued in August 2016, the hearing officer found and concluded that the District did not deny C.J. the free appropriate public education required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. (Docket Entry No. 6-1 at 2-9). C.J.’s parents filed this suit to appeal that decision.

II. The Legal Standard

A district court reviews the decision of a due process hearing officer "virtually de novo ." Dallas Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Woody, 865 F.3d 303, 309 (5th Cir. 2017) (quoting Cypress-Fairbanks Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Michael F., 118 F.3d 245, 252 (5th Cir. 1997) ). "When a district court reviews a hearing officer’s decision under the IDEA program, it receives the records of the administrative proceedings and also takes additional evidence at the request of any party." Houston Indep. Sch. Dist. v. V.P. ex rel. Juan P., 582 F.3d 576, 582-83 (5th Cir. 2009) (quoting Michael F., 118 F.3d at 252 ). "Although the district court is to give ‘due weight’ to the hearing officer’s findings, the court must ultimately reach an independent decision based on a preponderance of the evidence." Id. (citation omitted). "As a practical matter, the IDEA creates a presumption in favor of the education plan proposed by the school district, and places the burden of proof on the party challenging it." E.R. v. Spring Branch Indep. Sch. Dist., No. 4:16-CV-0058, 2017 WL 3017282, at *13, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 110524, at *42 (S.D. Tex. June 15, 2017) (citing Salley v. St. Tammany Parish Sch. Bd., 57 F.3d 458, 467 (5th Cir. 1995) ). In reaching this decision, "courts must be careful to avoid imposing their view of preferable educational methods upon the State." Board of Educ. v. Rowley, 458 U.S. 176, 207, 102 S.Ct. 3034, 73 L.Ed.2d 690 (1982). State and local authorities have primary responsibility for educating children and "courts lack the specialized knowledge and experience necessary to resolve persistent and difficult questions of educational policy." Rowley, 458 U.S. at 207-08, 102 S.Ct. 3034.

In an appeal under the Act, "[s]ummary judgment is ‘not directed to discerning whether there are disputed issues of fact, but rather, whether the administrative record, together with any additional evidence, establishes that there has been compliance with IDEA'S processes and that the child's education needs have been appropriately addressed.’ " Spring Branch, 2017 WL 3017282, at *13, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 110524, at *41-42 (citing Seth B. v. Orleans Parish School Board, 810 F.3d 961, 967 (5th Cir. 2016) ).

The cross-motions are analyzed under this legal standard.

III. Analysis

"The IDEA'S purpose is to ensure that children with disabilities have access to ‘free appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living.’ " C. G. by & through Keith & Linda F. v. Waller Indep. Sch. Dist. , 697 Fed.Appx. 816, 818 (5th Cir. 2017) (quoting 20 U.S.C. § 1400(d)(1)(A) ). A school must provide students eligible under the Act with "an individualized program of education" in the form of an Individualized Education Plan. Woody, 865 F.3d at 309. "The [Plan] must be ‘reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child’s circumstances.’ " Id. (quoting Endrew F. ex rel. Joseph F. v. Douglas Cnty. Sch. Dist. RE-1, ––– U.S. ––––, 137 S.Ct. 988, 999, 197 L.Ed.2d 335 (2017) ). "The IDEA does not require an IEP that maximizes the student's potential, nor does it require educational opportunities ‘substantially equal to the opportunities afforded children without...