Janzen v. Knox County Bd. of Educ., 85-5649

• Decision Date: 08 May 1986
• Docket Number: No. 85-5649,85-5649
• Citation: 790 F.2d 484
• Parties: , 32 Ed. Law Rep. 92 William R. JANZEN and wife, Nancy Janzen, and Charles David Janzen, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. KNOX COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION; Knox County, Tennessee; State Board of Education; and State of Tennessee, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

Page 484

790 F.2d 484

54 USLW 2590, 32 Ed. Law Rep. 92

William R. JANZEN and wife, Nancy Janzen, and Charles David

Janzen, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. KNOX COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION; Knox County, Tennessee;

State Board of Education; and State of Tennessee,

Defendants-Appellees.

No. 85-5649.

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.

Argued April 8, 1986.

Decided May 8, 1986.

Donald K. Vowell argued, Knoxville, Tenn., for plaintiffs-appellants.

Dale C. Workman, Robert H. Watson, Jr., Knoxville, Tenn., Stephanie R. Reeves argued, Asst. Atty. Gen., Nashville, Tenn., Michael W. Catalano, for defendants-appellees.

Before KEITH and MARTIN, Circuit Judges; and WEICK, Senior Circuit Judge.

BOYCE F. MARTIN, Jr., Circuit Judge.

We are here called upon to determine which Tennessee statute of limitations applies to this action brought by Charles Janzen and his parents William and Nancy Janzen under the Education of All Handicapped Children Act, 20 U.S.C. Secs. 1401-1461. The Janzens seek to be reimbursed by the Knox County Board of Education, Knox County, the Tennessee State Board of Education, and the State of Tennessee for the cost of the special private education emotionally-disturbed Charles required.

The district court held that a three-year statute of limitations, Tenn.Code Ann. Sec. 28-3-105(3), applied and that the Janzens' action was barred by this statute. The court held that the statute of limitations began to run in May, 1981, when the Janzens became aware of their cause of action for reimbursement and had begun procedures to seek reimbursement. Thus, the action filed in February, 1985, was untimely. The Janzens argue on appeal that the catchall ten-year statute of limitations, Tenn.Code Ann. Sec. 28-3-110(3), applies.

In late 1977, the Knox County school system knew that Charles Janzen, one of their students, was emotionally disturbed and in need of special educational support services. In the spring of 1978, Charles was suspended from school. The school report, signed by Mrs. Janzen, directed that Charles would be transferred to an Intervention Unit within the public school system. He would not be allowed to attend regular classes. In the fall of 1978, the Janzens enrolled Charles in a private school. Charles was admitted to Peninsula Psychiatric Hospital for "neurological dysfunction secondary to multiple drug ingestion" in September of 1979. The psychologist treating Charles there recommended that he be sent for long-term residential care at the Brown Schools in Texas. This was done and Charles received his graduate equivalency diploma on April 11, 1981. He left the school in late May.

The Janzens filed this suit on February 14, 1985, seeking reimbursement for Charles' education costs for the years 1978 through 1981. They have alleged repeated acts of bad faith on the part of the defendants in refusing to reimburse them and in not advising them of their rights under the Act in the early stages of Charles' treatment.

The Education of All Handicapped Children Act requires that participating local governments such as Tennessee and Knox County provide "free appropriate public education" for handicapped children in the school system. 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1415(a). "Free appropriate public education" includes specially designed instruction to meet the needs of the child, such as classroom instruction, instruction in physical education, home instruction and instruction in hospitals and institutions. 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1401(16) & (18). Support services including psychological services which may be required to assist the child in his education must also be provided. 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1401(17) & (18). The instruction and support services are to be provided at public expense, should meet state educational standards and should approximate grade levels provided in the state's regular education program. They should comport with the child's individualized education program which must be developed by local education officials, parents and teachers as a written statement containing the level of educational performance of the child and the goals and the services to be provided. 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1401(18); Hendrick Hudson Central School Dist. Bd. of Educ. v. Rowley, 458 U.S. 176, 181-82, 102 S.Ct. 3034, 3037-38, 73 L.Ed.2d 690 (1982).

Parents may request a due process hearing if they disagree with the program. The hearing findings may be appealed to federal district court, which then conducts a de novo review. 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1415; Rowley, 458 U.S. at 205-07, 102 S.Ct. at 3050-51; Roncker on behalf of Roncker v. Walter, 700 F.2d 1058, 1062 (6th Cir.), cert. denied sub nom. Cincinnati City School Dist. Bd. of Educ. v. Roncker, 464 U.S. 864, 104 S.Ct. 196, 78 L.Ed.2d 171 (1983). Reimbursement will be made for private placement if the initial decision to place the child in a private school is made solely by the parents. The district court must first, of course, determine that the private placement was proper. Burlington School Comm. v. Mass. Dept. of Educ., --- U.S. ----, 105 S.Ct. 1996, 85 L.Ed.2d 385 (1985). The Janzens did not seek such a hearing prior to filing this action because they believed such action would be futile. The school board had already made clear its position that it would not reimburse the Janzens.

The various agencies moved for dismissal or in the alternative for summary judgment on several grounds, one of which was the Tennessee statute of limitations. Because the Act contains no specific statute of limitations, the most appropriate Tennessee statute of limitations must be determined by the Court. See Wilson v. Garcia, --- U.S. ----, 105 S.Ct. 1938, 1942, 85 L.Ed.2d 254 (1985); Board of Regents v. Tomanio, 446 U.S. 478, 483-84, 100 S.Ct. 1790, 1794-95, 64 L.Ed.2d 440 (1980). Generally, courts determine which state cause of action is most analogous to the federal cause of action. The state limitations period for that cause of action can be adopted if it is consistent with the policy of the federal cause of action. Wilson, 105 S.Ct. at 1942; Occidental Life Ins. Co. of Cal. v. EEOC, 432 U.S. 355, 367-68, 97 S.Ct. 2447, 2454-56, 53 L.Ed.2d 402 (1977); Scokin v. State of Texas, 723 F.2d 432, 436 (5th Cir.1984).

In Wilson, a 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 action, the Supreme Court provided a framework to use when deciding which state statute of limitations should apply to a federal cause of action that has no express limitations period. The Court directed that first it must be determined whether one limitations period should apply to all actions under the federal Act or whether the limitations period should vary depending on the facts of the case. Wilson, 105 S.Ct. at 1944-47. Then the most appropriate statute of limitations must be determined for the federal cause of action by analyzing which state action is most analogous to the federal claim and whether the state statute of limitations governing the state action is consistent with the policies and goals of the federal Act. Id. at 1949.

In Wilson, the Court found that all section 1983 actions should be subject to the statute of limitations for personal torts. Id. at 1947. The Court noted that section 1983 was a "uniquely federal remedy," id. at 1945 (quoting Mitchum v. Foster, 407 U.S. 225, 239, 92 S.Ct. 2151, 2160, 32 L.Ed.2d 705 (1972)), and that "simple, broad characterization of all Sec. 1983 claims best fits the statute's remedial purpose." Wilson, 105 S.Ct. at 1945. The holding would create a uniform characterization which would lead to more certainty and less time-consuming litigation "foreign to the central purposes of Sec. 1983." Id. at 1945.

The same rationale, however, does not apply to actions under the Education of All Handicapped Children Act. Rather, the nature of actions that can be brought under this Act as well as the Act's goal of proper education of the handicapped child make the selection of state limitations periods on a case-by-case basis an imperative. The individual case must be characterized by considering the facts, the circumstances, the posture of the case and the legal theories presented. See Silverberg v. Thomson McKinnon Securities, Inc., 787 F.2d 1079, 1083-84 (6th Cir.1986) (selection of appropriate statutes of limitations in RICO actions should be done on an individual case basis).

For example, the Janzens seek reimbursement for the expense of Charles Janzen's private special education. Charles received a graduate equivalency diploma in 1981. Under the Act, actions may be brought by parents who cannot afford to pay for the schooling first and then seek reimbursement. In these cases, the child is being deprived of proper education while the dispute continues as to who must pay for the education. Parents may under the Act dispute the program being provided by the school system. The need for immediate action is much greater in these cases than in the Janzen situation. The shorter statute of limitations probably furthers the goals of the Act. If the dispute centers around the proper education to be provided, the federal cause of action may be more analogous to a different state cause of action than would be the case in an action seeking reimbursement, as we have here.

These factors alone argue that all actions under the Education of All Handicapped Children Act cannot be characterized in the same way. In Tennessee, five separate statutes of limitations could apply in the Janzen situation: (1) a sixty-day statute of limitations for appeals from administrative agency rulings, Tenn.Code Ann. Sec. 4-5-322; (2) a one-year statute of limitations for personal torts, Tenn. Code Ann. Sec. 28-3-104; (3) a one-year statute of limitations for claims against the state before the Board of Claims, Tenn.Code Ann. Sec. 9-8-402; (4) a ten-year statute of limitations for actions not covered by other statutes of limitations, Tenn. Code Ann. Sec. 28-3-110(3); and (5) a three-year statute of limitations for services performed but not paid for, ...