DS v. Rochester City Sch. Dist.

• Decision Date: 07 March 2022
• Docket Number: 6:19-CV-6528 EAW
• Parties: DS, an infant, by and through her parent and natural guardian, CS, and CS, individually, on her own behalf, Plaintiffs, v. ROCHESTER CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of New York

DS, an infant, by and through her parent and natural guardian, CS, and CS, individually, on her own behalf, Plaintiffs,
v.
ROCHESTER CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT, et al., Defendants.

No. 6:19-CV-6528 EAW

United States District Court, W.D. New York

March 7, 2022

DECISION AND ORDER

ELIZABETH A. WOLFORD, CHIEF JUDGE

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff DS (“Plaintiff DS”) and Plaintiff CS (“Plaintiff CS”) (collectively “Plaintiffs”) commenced this action against Defendants Rochester City School District (“RCSD”), the Board of Education of the RCSD (“BOE”), Barbara Deane-Williams, Karl Kristoff, Fatimat Reid, Sheelarani Webster, Charles Smith, Kim Garlock, Amy Martin, Nancy Resto, Shelly Boyd, Jessica Flanders, Elizabeth Caveny, Nicole McCoy, Megan Carlett, Valerie Torregrossa, Yolanda Asamoah-Wade, Idonia Owens, and Erica Deming, alleging federal claims pursuant to Title VI and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and a state law claim for negligent supervision, arising from incidents at Plaintiff DS's elementary school. (Dkt. 48).

Pending before the Court is a renewed motion to dismiss filed by Defendants RCSD, BOE, Barbara Deane-Williams, Karl Kristoff, Fatimat Reid, Sheelarani Webster,

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Charles Smith, Kim Garlock, Amy Martin, Nancy Resto, Shelly Boyd, Jessica Flanders, Elizabeth Caveny, Nicole McCoy, Megan Carlett, Yolanda Asamoah-Wade, Idonia Owens, and Erica Deming (i.e., all defendants except Valerie Torregrossa) (collectively “Defendants”), pursuant to Rules 11 and 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.^[1] In a Decision and Order dated November 30, 2020 (“D&O”), the Court granted Defendants' prior motion to dismiss Plaintiffs' complaint but permitted Plaintiffs leave to amend. (Dkt. 38). The sufficiency of Plaintiffs' amended complaint (Dkt. 48) is now before the Court on the instant motion to dismiss (Dkt. 51). For the reasons set forth below, Defendants' motion is granted in part and denied in part.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The following facts are taken from the amended complaint. (Dkt. 48). The factual background of this case is set forth in detail in the D&O, familiarity with which is assumed for purposes of this Decision and Order. The Court summarizes the key details below and includes relevant factual additions from the amended complaint. As is required at this stage of the proceedings, the Court treats Plaintiffs' allegations as true.

Plaintiff DS is a child residing in the City of Rochester, New York, with her mother, Plaintiff CS. (Id. at ¶ 4). Plaintiff DS and Plaintiff CS are white. (Id.). Plaintiff

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DS attended School No. 58, a public school in the RCSD known as World of Inquiry, where the ratio of black and Hispanic children to white children is approximately seven to one. (Id.at ¶¶ 4, 42). The allegations in the amended complaint arise from incidents occurring at School No. 58.

Plaintiff DS began attending School No. 58 in the fall of 2016 for her third-grade school year. (Id. at ¶ 39). Prior to the 2016 presidential election, Plaintiff DS's teacher, Defendant Flanders, conducted a mock election and asked each of the children for whom they would cast their vote to be President of the United States. (Id. at ¶ 44). Plaintiff DS stated that she would vote for Donald Trump, whereas her other classmates supported Hillary Clinton's candidacy. (Id. at ¶ 45). As a result of Plaintiff DS's mock vote, she was perceived by her classmates to be racist and sympathetic to white supremacists. (Id. at ¶ 46). Plaintiff DS's classmates called Plaintiff DS and Plaintiff CS racist and told Plaintiff DS that “only white people vote for Trump and if you vote for Trump, you are a racist.” (Id. at ¶¶ 48, 50). Plaintiff DS's mock vote resulted in her being mistreated by her teacher and harassed by certain African-American and Hispanic classmates in a manner that was race-based and driven by the fact that Plaintiff DS is white. (Id. at ¶ 49). Classmates called Plaintiff DS a white racist, white whore, white bitch, and other derogatory names that identified her race. (Id. at ¶ 59). Defendant Flanders did not allow Plaintiff DS to participate in activities that other students engaged in, unfairly punished Plaintiff DS, and did nothing to stop the name-calling by Plaintiff DS's classmates. (Id. at ¶¶ 49, 53, 61, 76).

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Following the mock presidential vote, Defendant Resto, the administrative assistant to the principal, told Plaintiff CS that Plaintiff CS could no longer enter the school through the back door, even though that door was routinely used by other parents as an entrance. (Id. at ¶ 70). When Plaintiff CS raised the issue of Plaintiff DS's disparate treatment with Defendant Webster, the Principal of School No. 58, the only option given as a remedy was to move Plaintiff DS to a different third grade classroom, which they did. (Id. at ¶¶ 84, 86). But in the new third grade classroom, Plaintiff DS was harassed, physically assaulted, and bullied by a male Hispanic classmate on a regular basis. (Id. at ¶¶ 89, 90, 96). Plaintiff DS's Hispanic classmate told her she was racist and called her other vulgar names which specified her white race. (Id. at ¶ 91). The teachers did not correct the aggressive behavior and the harassment continued. (Id. at ¶¶ 94, 96). At the end of that school year, when Plaintiff CS went to the school to attend an RCSD School Based Planning training, she was told by Defendant Webster that she could no longer attend and needed to be “invited” and “cooperative” to attend. (Id. at ¶ 103).

In her fourth-grade year, Plaintiff DS continued to be harassed, physically assaulted, and bullied by the same Hispanic classmate. (Id. at ¶¶ 106, 109). Defendants Caveny, McCoy, and Webster witnessed or were advised of the ongoing harassment and bullying of Plaintiff DS by her classmate but failed to address it. (Id. at ¶¶ 107). The Hispanic classmate told Plaintiff DS that she “sucks big black dick every day.” (Id. at ¶ 113). A request by Plaintiff CS to set up a meeting between herself and that child's parents was refused. (Id. at ¶ 119).

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In April of her fourth-grade school year, Plaintiff DS was removed from class by the school psychologist, Defendant Deming, without parental notice, who engaged in a fishing expedition about Plaintiff DS's home life. (Id. at ¶ 121). Plaintiff DS mentioned that her brother had a BB gun and a referral was made to Monroe County Child Protective Services. (Id. at ¶ 123). This referral resulted in a visit to their home, which was determined to be unfounded. (Id. at ¶ 125). The unfounded referral by RCSD was intended to serve as retaliation against Plaintiff CS for her complaints regarding discrimination against Plaintiff DS at the school and the school's failure to keep Plaintiff DS safe from bullying and harassment. (Id. at ¶ 126).

In addition, the same Hispanic classmate falsely accused Plaintiff DS of using the “n” word, intentionally stomped on her foot or was otherwise physical with her, and in one instance stepped on her foot with such intensity that Plaintiff DS required a doctor to remove part of her toenail. (Id. at ¶¶ 130, 132, 138, 146, 147, 153). On several occasions, Plaintiff DS asked several adults, including Defendants Caveny and McCoy, (teachers at School No. 58), Defendant Resto, and the school nurse to call Plaintiff CS, but she was not permitted to do so. (Id. at ¶ 133, 154, 157).

Plaintiff CS routinely followed up with the school on reports of bullying suffered by Plaintiff DS. (Id. at ¶ 182). She sent numerous emails and made phone calls to individuals with authority to enact remedial measures to stop the harassment and retaliation, including specifically Defendant Owens, Defendant Asamoah-Wade, Defendant Reid, and Defendant Deane-Williams, but they did not effectively help end the

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harassment of Plaintiff DS. (Id. at ¶¶ 184-191). Most of Plaintiff CS's communications were ignored. (Id. at ¶ 192).

In April of 2018, Plaintiff CS informed Defendant Owens, the Chief of School Equity, and School No. 58 staff that Plaintiff DS was being taken to a doctor to assess the physical and psychological effects from her experience in school and reminding them that the school needed to keep Plaintiff DS safe. (Id. at ¶¶ 142, 143). On June 6, 2018, Plaintiff CS attended a meeting at RCSD offices to discuss the investigation of bullying and assaults against Plaintiff DS. (Id. at ¶ 200). Present at the meeting were Defendant Asamoah-Wade, Defendant Reid, Defendant Owens, and Defendant Kristoff. (Id. at ¶ 201). At the meeting, Plaintiff CS was accused of promoting Plaintiff DS's safety to further a social media cause and suggested Plaintiff CS had a political agenda. (Id. at ¶¶ 203, 204). Plaintiff CS was also informed that the RCSD investigation concluded that the foot stomping incident did not happen. (Id. at ¶ 211).

On June 19, 2018, Plaintiff CS paid an independent education specialist to conduct an assessment of Plaintiff DS and the specialist determined that Plaintiff DS met the criteria for Other Health Impairment, Learning Disability, and Emotional Disturbance, resulting from the bullying, harassment, and abuse she experienced in school. (Id. at ¶¶ 213, 215). RCSD disagreed with the educational assessment and refused to provide special education services for Plaintiff DS. (Id. at ¶ 218). Plaintiff CS was forced to hire an attorney and file for mediation, which ultimately resulted in the imposition of a proposed Section 504 plan for Plaintiff DS. (Id. at ¶ 220).

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In fifth grade, Plaintiff DS continued to experience harassment and bullying by her classmates because of her race. (Id. at ¶¶ 222, 223, 229). An African-American female classmate pulled Plaintiff DS's hair and then falsely reported that DS had used the “n” word. (Id. at ¶¶ 231, 235). The school credited the classmate's fabrication because of their racial prejudice against Plaintiff DS and Plaintiff DS was forced to endure a “Peace Circle” to discuss her use of...