Does 1-7 v. Round Rock Independent School Dist.

Decision Date20 December 2007
Docket NumberNo. A-07-CA-708-SS.,A-07-CA-708-SS.
Citation540 F.Supp.2d 735
PartiesDOES 1-7, Plaintiffs, v. ROUND ROCK INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT, Jesus H. Chavez, Defendants.
CourtU.S. District Court — Western District of Texas

Alexander Joseph Luchenitser, Ayesha N. Khan, Heather L. Weaver, Jessica L. Wolland, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Washington, DC, Robert Franklin Andrews, Attorney at Law, Austin, TX, for Plaintiffs.

Mary Schaerdel Dietz, Sarah R. Holland, Fulbright & Jaworski, L.L.P., Austin, TX, for Defendants.

ORDER

SAM SPARKS, District Judge.

BE IT REMEMBERED on the 9th day of December 2007 the Court held a hearing on all pending motions in the above-styled cause, and the parties appeared through counsel. Before the Court were the parties' Joint Stipulation re: Dismissal of Jesus Chavez in his Individual Capacity [12], Defendant Round Rock Independent School District's Amended Motion to Dismiss [14], Plaintiffs' Response thereto [23], Defendant's Reply [31, 34,] and Plaintiffs' Surreply [35], as well as Defendants' Motion to Stay Discovery [12] and Plaintiffs' Response thereto [21], and the parties' Joint Proposed Scheduling Order [30].1 The Court GRANTS the parties' joint request to dismiss all claims against Dr. Jesus Chavez in his individual capacity.

Before addressing the discovery and scheduling issues in the case, the Court will evaluate the merits of the School District's Motion to Dismiss. After considering the Motion, Response, Reply; and Surreply, as well as the arguments of counsel at the hearing, the Court invited all parties to submit supplemental letter briefing on the issues of mootness, ripeness, and nominal damages within ten days of the November 9, 2007 hearing. All parties submitted letter briefs,2 which the Court will consider in addition to the materials listed above, the applicable law, and the case file as a whole.

Background

The Plaintiffs challenge Defendant Round Rock Independent School District (RRISD)'s policy of allowing the graduating class at each of the four RRISD high schools to vote on whether to have a student say a prayer at the high school's commencement ceremony. Complaint ¶ 2. Plaintiffs challenge both the presentation of a graduation prayer and the school district's policy of conducting a "majoritarian election on religion." Id. at ¶ 1.

In 2007 RRISD held votes at all four district high, schools. The majority at all four schools did not vote in favor of prayer at graduation, either voting against it or abstaining. Id. at ¶ 30. After protests from some students and parents at a May 17, 2007 School Board meeting, id. at ¶ 31, RRISD decided to re-count the votes, ignoring abstentions. Id. at ¶ 33. When students who had not voted were not included in the tally, there was a majority in favor of a graduation prayer at three of the four RRISD schools. Id. at ¶ 33-34. Westwood High was the only school that did not have more votes in favor of the prayer than against it when the votes excluded abstaining students. Id. After further protests from students and parents who wanted a graduation prayer at Westwood High, RRISD asked students at Westwood High to vote again at the end of a mandatory graduation rehearsal on May 23, 2007. Id. at ¶ 34-35. The majority voted against a graduation prayer, and no prayer was said at the 2007 Westwood High graduation. Id. at ¶ 35.

A student-led prayer was offered at each of the other three RRISD high school graduation ceremonies in 2007. Id. at ¶ 36. The students' drafts of each prayer were reviewed and heavily edited by RRISD staff including each school's principal, Assistant Superintendent Rosena Malone, Deputy Superintendent Toni Garcia, and RRISD's attorney. Id. at ¶ 3843. Plaintiffs contend RRISD officials "revis[ed] at least one of the prayers so significantly that its content must be almost exclusively attributed to District officials." Id. at ¶ 53.

Plaintiffs sue anonymously to avoid harassment from the community. Id. ¶ 15. Each of the. Plaintiffs seeks injunctive and declaratory relief and an award of nominal damages. Plaintiffs fall generally into two groups: those who are offended by the graduation prayer policy but who have not attended one of the challenged graduation ceremonies, and those who attended a graduation ceremony in May 2007.

In the first category, Does 1 and 2 are the parents of two children who attend RRISD schools. Id. at ¶ 10. One child is in high school and the other "will be entering high school in the near future." Id. The Complaint contains no allegation regarding either student's current grade level. Does 1 and 2 sue on behalf of themselves and their children. Id. There is no allegation that Does 1 and 2 or any of her children attended or wished to attend a graduation ceremony in 2007.

Doe 5 is the parent of a RRISD high school graduate and a minor child who entered a RRISD high school in Fall of 2007. Id. at ¶ 12. The Complaint does not specify when the older child graduated, nor does it allege any prayer was held at the child's graduation ceremony. Doe 5 sues individually and on behalf of the minor child (but not on behalf of the graduate). Id. The claims asserted by Doe 5 and the minor child arise out of their objections to the graduation prayer policy generally, not out of their attendance at a specific graduation ceremony. Id.

Doe 6 is the parent of "several" RRISD students who are not yet in high school. Id. at ¶ 13. Doe 6 sues individually and on behalf of these minor children. Id. The complaint contains no allegation about the children's grade level. There is no allegation that Doe 6 or any of her children attended or wished to attend a graduation ceremony in 2007.

Does 1, 2, 5, and 6 each assert the existence RRISD's graduation prayer policy "coercively expose[s] [Plaintiffs] to religious exercises that are publicly sponsored. and impede[s] the ability of [the Doe parents] to direct and control the religious upbringing of their children...." Id. at ¶ 10. Their complaints are based on the existence of the graduation policy itself, not on their attendance at any particular graduation ceremony.

In contrast, Does 3, 4, and 7 attended a graduation ceremony in May of 2007. Does 3 and 4 are the parents of two children who attend or attended RRISD schools. Id. at ¶ 11. One child graduated in 2007 from a RRISD high school at which a vote on graduation prayer was conducted and a student prayer was presented at the ceremony. Id. The other child is currently attending a RRISD high school; the Complaint does not state this child's grade level. Id. Does 3 and 4 sue on behalf of themselves and their children, alleging the family was "put ... to the coercive choice of foregoing attendance at a seminal event in the child's educational life or attending a graduation ceremony that includes a prayer that does not reflect their beliefs and that makes them feel like outcasts." Id.

Doe 7 graduated from Westwood High in 2007 and has a sibling currently attending an RRISD high school (at an unspecified grade level). Id. at ¶ 14. A legal adult, Doe 7 sues individually, asserting exposure to multiple votes on whether to have a graduation prayer violated his3 constitutional rights, notwithstanding the fact that no prayer was ultimately conducted at the graduation ceremony Doe 7 attended. Id. Doe 7 further asserts he plans to attend the graduation of his sibling at some future date, and will be forced to choose between foregoing that event or being subjected to graduation prayers at that time. Id.

Analysis

Defendants move to dismiss all of Plaintiffs' claims for lack of standing. In the alternative, defendants assert the claims related to the 2007 graduation ceremony have been mooted by intervening legislation, while any claims related to future graduation ceremonies are not yet ripe. Finally, Defendants argue that, to the extent plaintiffs have standing and have asserted justiciable claims, they have failed to state any claim for which relief can be granted under Fifth Circuit law.

I. Standing

To have standing to sue, a plaintiff must show that he personally suffered some actual or threatened injury, that the injury is fairly traceable to the defendant's challenged action, and that the relief that plaintiff has requested will redress the injury. Doe v. Tangipahoa Parish Sch. Bd., 494 F.3d 494, 496 (5th Cir.2007); Center for Individual Freedom v. Carmouche, 449 F.3d 655, 659 (5th Cir.2006)(citing Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560, 112 S.Ct. 2130, 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992)). The injury "must be actual or imminent, and not abstract, conjectural, or hypothetical." FEC v. Akins, 524 U.S. 11, 20, 118 S.Ct. 1777, 141 L.Ed.2d 10 (1998). The Fifth Circuit strictly enforces the standing requirement as an essential element of subject matter jurisdiction. See Doe v. Tangipahoa Parish Sch. Bd., 494 F.3d 494, 498 (5th Cir. July 25, 2007) (citing Bender v. Williamsport Area Sch. Dist., 475 U.S. 534, 541-42, 106 S.Ct. 1326, 89 L.Ed.2d 501 (1986)).

For purposes of determining standing to sue, the Court must examine each plaintiffs claims individually. Doe v. Tangipahoa Parish Sch. Bd., 494 F.3d 494, 496-497 (5th Cir.2007) ("Constitutional standing requires that the plaintiff personally suffered some actual or threatened injury ...") (emphasis added). Each of the plaintiffs, however, falls into one of four rough categories:

1. one legally adult student who graduated in a 2007 RRISD graduation ceremony;

2. parents suing as next friends of children who graduated in a 2007 RRISD graduation ceremony;

3. parents suing individually and as next friends of children who attended the 2007 RRISD graduation ceremony of a family member; or

4. parents suing individually and as next friends of children who attend RRISD but have not graduated from a 2007 RRISD graduation ceremony or attended a graduation ceremony for a family member.

As each plaintiff...

To continue reading

Request your trial
9 cases
  • Sistrunk v. Titlemax, Inc.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Western District of Texas
    • August 17, 2017
    ...... held that actual damages are an independent prerequisite to monetary recovery or an ... as any sound basis for analogy" because it "does not include the critical limiting phrase ... See Does 1-7 v . Round Rock Ind . Sch . Dist ., 540 F. Supp. 2d 735, ......
  • State v. Williams, 2013-KA-0283
    • United States
    • Court of Appeal of Louisiana (US)
    • September 7, 2016
    ...vacating, and remanding for further consideration in light of some intervening development." Does 1-7 v. Round Rock Indep. Sch. Dist., 540 F.Supp.2d 735, 748 (W.D. Tex. 2007) (citing Carter v. Johnson, 131 F.3d 452, 457 (5th Cir. 1997)). The Supreme Court generally uses the GVR device when ......
  • State v. Williams
    • United States
    • Court of Appeal of Louisiana (US)
    • September 7, 2016
    ...vacating, and remanding for further consideration in light of some intervening development.” Does 1–7 v. Round Rock Indep. Sch. Dist., 540 F.Supp.2d 735, 748 (W.D.Tex.2007) (citing Carter v. Johnson, 131 F.3d 452, 457 (5th Cir.1997) ). The Supreme Court generally uses the GVR device when it......
  • Madrigal v. Kleberg Cnty. & Edward Mata
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Southern District of Texas
    • September 6, 2016
    ......2014) ("Rule 12(b)(6) does not require the [plaintiff] to present its best ...Socorro Indep. Sch. Dist., 169 F.3d 969, 972 (5th Cir. 1999)). ...Round Rock Indep. Sch. Dist., 540 F. Supp. 2d 735, 749 ......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT