Hornstine v. Township of Moorestown, CIV.A.03-CV-1953(FLW).

• Citation: 263 F.Supp.2d 887
• Decision Date: 30 May 2003
• Docket Number: No. CIV.A.03-CV-1953(FLW).,CIV.A.03-CV-1953(FLW).
• Parties: Blair L. HORNSTINE, Plaintiff, v. TOWNSHIP OF MOORESTOWN, Moorestown Board of Education and Superintendent of Schools Paul J. Kadri, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of New Jersey

263 F.Supp.2d 887

Blair L. HORNSTINE, Plaintiff, v. TOWNSHIP OF MOORESTOWN, Moorestown Board of Education and Superintendent of Schools Paul J. Kadri, Defendants.

No. CIV.A.03-CV-1953(FLW).

United States District Court, D. New Jersey.

May 30, 2003.

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Edwin J. Jacobs, Jr., Esq., Erika A. Appenzeller, Esq., Jacobs & Barbone, P.A., Atlantic City, NJ, Ira M. Fingles, Esq., Law Offices of Herbert D. Hinkle, Lawrenceville, NJ, for Plaintiff.

John B. Comegno II, Esq., Jennifer L. McCarthy, Esq., Susan S. Hodges, Esq., Archer & Greiner, Haddonfield, NJ, for Defendants.

Frances A. Hartman, Esq., Law Offices of the Attorneys Hartman, Chartered, Moorestown, NJ, for Intervenor.

OPINION

WOLFSON, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Blair Hornstine, a special needs high school senior, seeks the protection of this Court by way of a Temporary Restraining Order ("TRO") to enjoin defendant Moorestown Board of Education ("the Board") from retroactively applying to her a proposed policy amendment that would allow the designation of multiple valedictorians, which she contends would discriminate against her under the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act ("Section 504"). Although defendants granted plaintiff academic accommodations through her Individual Education Plan ("IEP") to redress her disability, as required by the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act ("IDEA"), they now contend that those same accommodations granted plaintiff an unfair advantage over her non-disabled classmates; they allegedly aim to correct this "fundamental unfairness" by naming as valedictorian, together with, or instead of, plaintiff, a non-disabled student whose weighted grade point average ("GPA") is less than hers.

Given that this case has generated a firestorm of controversy, it is important to emphasize at the outset what this case is not about. First, it is not about whether plaintiff is disabled; that is undisputed by defendants. Second, it is not about the appropriateness of the accommodations plaintiff received through her IEP; she was afforded these accommodations by the Board to level the academic playing field for her, and in fact, her achievements are a model example of a successful IDEA program. This case is about an outstanding student who overcame the hardships of her disability to achieve the best grades in her class, and who is now in danger of having her accomplishments tarnished by her own school's administrators in the name of rectifying an imagined injustice. The record on this application for a TRO makes clear that the Board and Superintendent Paul Kadri ("Kadri"), in particular, apparently propelled by parental and community pressure, have sought to appease these uninformed interests by changing the rules. In so doing, they have embarked on a course to denigrate plaintiffs remarkable achievements as a special needs student, and thus, diminish the recognition due to her, by criticizing the accommodations which these same defendants approved and never challenged. This unfortunate set of circumstances leads me to issue the following opinion.

II. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HITORY

Plaintiff Blair Hornstine is an exceptional student. After seven semesters in Moorestown High School, she has achieved the highest weighted grade point average in her class: 4.6894. Her high school transcript shows a remarkable 23 A +'s, 9 A's, 1 A-, and nothing lower. More than two-thirds of her classes were Advanced Placement ("AP") or Honors, which are by definition more intense than regular classes. She scored a 1570 out of a possible 1600 on her Scholastic Aptitude Test, and will attend Harvard University in the fall of 2003.

Plaintiff has earned these achievements in spite of the undisputed fact that she suffers from a physical disability. Because of this disability, the Board developed an IEP for her, as required by the IDEA, 20 U.S.C. §§ 1400-1491. See Complaint at ¶ 3. As part of her IEP, the Board granted her permission to participate in a hybrid program that allows her to attend morning classes and receive the remainder of her instruction at home from Board staff members. Id. It is undisputed that plaintiff needed this accommodation because her health problems caused "substantial fatigue" which rendered her unable to "attend [and] participate through a full school day." Certification of Paul J. Kadri ("Kadri Cert."), Exhibit D at page 4.

The 2002-2003 Moorestown High School Student/Parent Handbook ("Handbook"), incorporating Board policy, states that the graduating "senior student with the highest seventh semester [weighted G.P.A.] will be named the valedictorian, and the student with the second highest seventh semester [weighted G.P.A.] will be named the salutatorian." Complaint at Exhibit B. Thus, according to the Board policy now in effect, plaintiff should be named valedictorian of her class for the graduation ceremony on June 19, 2003, since she has attained the highest weighted G.P.A.

However, Superintendent Kadri has initiated an effort to change the Board policy to allow for multiple valedictorians and salutatorians. Kadri Cert. at ¶¶ 25-35. According to Kadri, in the fall of 2002—his first semester as superintendent—he was approached by "parents, students, and other community members" expressing concern that "students were not provided equal opportunities to earn the awards" because plaintiff was granted "accommodations ... in a disparate manner." See id. at ¶ 7. Kadri also alleges that he was told that plaintiff's father intended to manipulate the special education laws to ensure that his daughter became valedictorian. Id. at ¶¶ 8-9.

On September 19, 2002, Kadri met with plaintiff's father, Louis Hornstine. Kadri and Mr. Hornstine have very different recollections of this meeting. Compare Kadri Cert, at ¶¶ 10-24 with Louis Hornstine's Certification ("L. Hornstine Cert."), Plaintiffs Reply at Exhibit H, ¶¶ 12-24. Kadri portrays Mr. Hornstine as an overzealous parent bent on manipulating the system to ensure that his daughter does not suffer "the same embarrassment" he suffered when he was merely the salutatorian of his graduating class. Kadri Cert. at ¶ 14. Mr. Hornstine disputes most of Kadri's account of the meeting, stating, for example, that he was not salutatorian of his class, since his "class rank was never that high." L. Hornstine Cert. at ¶ 19. Plaintiff offers the certification of Assistant Superintendent Judithann Keefe, who was also present at the meeting, in support of Mr. Hornstine's account. Certification of Judithann C. Keefe, Ed.D. ("Keefe Cert.").

However, the Court will not involve itself in the apparent quarrel between Mr. Kadri and Mr. Hornstine because it is not relevant to this case. It is undisputed that Mr. Hornstine could not affect his daughter's curriculum in any way without the express authority of the School Board. See Lascari v. Bd. of Ed. of Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High Schl. Dist., 116 N.J. 30, 44, 560 A.2d 1180 (1989) (stating that the local school district is vested with the responsibility of formulating and implementing special needs students' IEPs); N.J.S.A. 18A:46-5 and -5.1. Thus, whether or not Mr. Hornstine intended to manipulate the system is immaterial: the Board approved every aspect of plaintiff's curriculum through her IEP.

In any event, in the fall of 2002, Kadri began an "investigatfion]" into plaintiffs disabled status and attendant course load. Kadri Cert, at ¶ 25. On November 20, 2002, Kadri was present at a meeting with plaintiff, her IEP team, and her parents. Complaint at ¶ 9. Plaintiff's treating physician and the IEP team agreed that due to her medical condition at the time, a reduction in the number of her courses was necessary. Id. at ¶ 8. Yet Kadri ordered that the school physician review plaintiff's medical condition. Id. at ¶ 9. The school physician agreed that a "reduction in course load is medically appropriate due to her exhaustion and overextending herself this year." Id. at Exhibit A. Kadri, however, refused to allow plaintiff to drop a class. She instead withdrew from AP European History and enrolled in Honors Contemporary U.S. History. See L Hornstine Cert. at ¶ 2, and Kadri Cert, at Exhibit B.

In the fall of 2002 and early 2003, Kadri held impromptu meetings with the Board attorney, the Child Study Team, and supervisors within the school system to discuss plaintiffs IEP and disability status, G.P.A., and valedictorian status. Complaint at ¶ 12. In December 2002, the Board contacted plaintiff's home instructors to "validate and verify" her educational curriculum. Id. at ¶ 13; Steven Grill's Certification ("Grill Cert"), Plaintiff's Reply at Exhibit B, ¶ 9; John O'Neill's Certification ("O'Neill Cert."), Plaintiff's Reply at Exhibit E, ¶ 7. Plaintiff alleges, and one of her home instructors certifies, that the Board did not inquire into the curricula of other home-schooled students. Complaint at ¶ 13; O'Neill Cert, at ¶ 8.

Moreover, Kadri has made his desire to award multiple valedictorians public knowledge among plaintiff's classmates. In January 2003, at a dinner meeting with the school's class officers, he discussed the possibility of declaring multiple valedictorians. Furthermore, in late February 2003, he addressed the same issue to an assembly of the entire senior class, while plaintiff was present. Complaint at ¶¶ 14,17.

In the last few weeks, Kadri has placed a proposal before the Board that its policy be amended to allow for multiple valedictorians. Kadri Cert, at ¶ 35. The proposed amendment to the policy reads:

In determining the recipients of [the awards of valedictorian and salutatorian], the Board may review the program of study, manner of instruction, and other relevant issues, and in its discretion, with the assistance of the administration, may designate multiple valedictorians and/or salutatorians to ensure that all...