Jensen ex rel. C.J. v. Reeves

• Decision Date: 29 March 1999
• Docket Number: No. 98 CV 208B.,98 CV 208B.
• Citation: 45 F.Supp.2d 1265
• Parties: Carl JENSEN and Judy Jensen for themselves individually, and on behalf of their children, C.J., AMJ and ABJ, Plaintiffs, v. Muffet REEVES, in her official and individual capacity, The Alpine School District, Defendant Tom Rabb, in his official and individual capacity, Defendant Roy Pehrson, in his official and individual capacity, and Kent Pierce, in his official capacity, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Utah

45 F.Supp.2d 1265

Carl JENSEN and Judy Jensen for themselves individually, and on behalf of their children, C.J., AMJ and ABJ, Plaintiffs, v. Muffet REEVES, in her official and individual capacity, The Alpine School District, Defendant Tom Rabb, in his official and individual capacity, Defendant Roy Pehrson, in his official and individual capacity, and Kent Pierce, in his official capacity, Defendants.

No. 98 CV 208B.

United States District Court, D. Utah, Central Division.

March 29, 1999.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Mathew Hilton, Springville, UT, for plaintiffs.

Renee Spooner, Salt Lake City, UT, for defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

BENSON, District Judge.

INTRODUCTION

This matter comes before the Court on defendants' Motion to Dismiss for failure to state a claim. Plaintiffs Carl and Judy Jensen, for themselves and their children C.J., A.M.J., and A.B.J., are suing defendants Muffet Reeves (the principal of C.J.'s and A.M.J.'s elementary school), the Alpine School District, and school officials Tom Rabb, Roy Pehrson, and Kent Pierce. Generally, plaintiffs' suit arises out of C.J.'s suspension from elementary school for several alleged incidents of misconduct. C.J.'s parents allege, inter alia, that theirs and their children's due process rights have been violated as a result of the suspension. On April 9, 1998, defendants moved for dismissal of all claims for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12b(6). Upon being fully briefed, the Court heard oral argument on defendants' motion to dismiss on July 8, 1998. Shortly thereafter plaintiffs filed a motion to amend their complaint. Subsequently, and before the Court made rulings on the pending motions, defendants filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint. The briefing on defendants' motion to dismiss plaintiffs' amended complaint was completed in August, 1998. The Court hereby grants plaintiffs' motion to amend their complaint.

Considering all relevant arguments made during oral argument and in the briefs, for the reasons set forth below the Court grants defendants' motion to dismiss plaintiffs' amended complaint.

BACKGROUND

I. Facts

C.J. attended Sharon Elementary School in Orem, Utah, beginning the first grade in 1996. During both his first and second-grade years, C.J. accumulated an extensive history of misconduct. In October, 1996, C.J. was twice given citizenship slips by Ms. Hyatt, his first-grade teacher, for "kicking other students" and "hitting others with a stick." On three separate occasions in December, 1996, C.J. was given citizenship slips by Principal Reeves for using "nasty language," disobeying his teacher, throwing snowballs, and pushing other children. In May, 1997, C.J. punched a girl in the nose, causing her to bleed, and was suspended for the last day of the school year. Early the following school year, a complaint for harassment was lodged against C.J. by a female student (L.P.).

Following the harassment complaint, Principal Reeves mailed to C.J.'s parents a copy of a letter she had sent to L.P.'s parents which outlined the action taken by the school in response to the complaints. The letter stated that pursuant to an investigation in accordance with district policy, C.J. would lose his lunch privileges and be required to spend his lunch periods in the principal's office during the first week of November. Upon receipt of the letter, Mr. Jensen went to the district offices and met with the Assistant Superintendent over Elementary Education. Mr. Jensen was given a copy of the district's disciplinary policy. Mr. Jensen expressed concern over not being contacted earlier regarding the harassment complaint or that C.J. had a problem of this sort. Principal Reeves apparently had tried to contact the Jensens earlier but had the wrong telephone number.

In November, 1997, C.J.'s second-grade teacher, Mrs. Russell, and Principal Reeves contacted the Jensens to report on C.J.'s continuing negative conduct in class and arrange for a meeting between the school and the Jensens to discuss how best to resolve C.J.'s ongoing discipline problems. During the meeting, C.J.'s teacher, Mrs. Russell, allegedly indicated she felt it was inappropriate for the Jensens to have directly contacted the district offices regarding the earlier harassment complaint. Additionally, the parties discussed C.J.'s behavioral history, hyperactivity, excessive side effects of prior medication, prior work with a psychologist, and ways to help the Jensens and the school address any inappropriate action by C.J.

Following the meeting, Principal Reeves had C.J. take home a packet of information which described Alpine School District's special education program pursuant to the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). A school official followed up with Mr. Jensen and inquired if the Jensens were interested in making a request to determine C.J.'s eligibility for the program. The Jensens did not make such a request for special education services. The Jensens did, however, retain a psychologist of their own to evaluate C.J. School officials thereafter cooperated with C.J.'s psychologist by submitting evaluation forms regarding C.J.'s behavior. There is some indication that C.J.'s behavior showed improvement in December, 1997. In early January, 1998, C.J. began to misbehave again.

On January 7, 1998, C.J. refused to behave during the student of the month assembly and was required to sit next to Mrs. Russell for the remainder of the program. On January 20, 1998, the Jensens were sent a written memorandum from Principal Reeves indicating that C.J. had hit another student (this was the second hitting incident). Principal Reeves informed the Jensens that she had reviewed the content of the memo with C.J. and that if a third incident occurred, C.J. would be suspended for ten days and a district hearing would be held to determine whether additional action, including expulsion from school, was necessary. Despite these efforts, however, on February 5, 1998, C.J. pushed another student. Principal Reeves informed the Jensens of the incident and scheduled a fact-finding hearing regarding C.J. to determine the appropriate course of action. Principal Reeves subsequently suspended C.J. for 1.5 days and referred the situation to the District Hearing Committee.

On February 5, 1998, Defendant Rabb of the Alpine School District and Mr. Jensen set February 12, 1998 at 1:00 p.m. as the time for a district panel hearing. The next day, however, Mr. Jensen allegedly called Mr. Rabb requesting to change the hearing to February 13 at 6:00 p.m. so that the hearing could take place at the office of C.J.'s psychologist. Mr. Rabb, however, was out of town and could not be reached. The Jensens believed the meeting was going to take place on February 13, 1998 and were planning on presenting "clinical and sub-clinical" evidence of C.J.'s Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). On February 12, 1998 at 1:00 p.m., as initially scheduled, the hearing was convened and the Jensens did not attend. Those in attendance were defendants Rabb, Pehrson, and Pierce. Following the hearing, Mr. Rabb called the Jensens and informed them that the meeting had taken place without them under approval of the Superintendent's representative Mr. Pehrson, and that the Jensens had five days to respond in writing or to schedule a date and time to have the hearing reconvened so that they could provide any information they felt necessary for the panel to hear. Following this phone call, Mr. Jensen called Superintendent Steven C. Baugh and lodged a complaint regarding the manner in which the hearing had been handled. On February 13, 1998, Mr. Pehrson and Mr. Jensen agreed that Mr. Jensen would contact Mr. Pehrson by February 27, 1998, to establish a time when they could meet with the panel. Two days prior to the end of this time period, on February 25, 1998, Mr. Jensen informed Mr. Pehrson that he had contacted a lawyer and wanted to meet with attorneys present.

In the meantime, on March 2, 1998, C.J. was involved in yet another confrontational incident on the school's playground, and was called to the principal's office. Principal Reeves questioned all students involved in the incident, including C.J. Each student was given an opportunity to give his or her version of the incident. Harassment complaints were thereafter filed against C.J. by several parents of students claiming to have been hit or touched in an offensive manner by C.J. The next day, March 3, 1998, Principal Reeves requested a meeting with the Jensens. Mr. Jensen refused, stating that he wanted attorneys present and that he had already told this to Mr. Pehrson. On March 4, 1998, Principal Reeves informed the Jensens that in accordance with district policy C.J. was suspended for ten days or until the meeting between counsel for the District and the Jensens, whichever occurred first.

The Jensens responded by filing this lawsuit, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, for various violations of constitutional or statutory rights of both C.J. and the Jensens themselves. Specifically, plaintiffs' amended complaint contains seven claims for relief. Plaintiffs claim (1) they were denied procedural due process when C.J. was suspended from school for ten days; (2) that C.J., by virtue of his ADHD, qualifies as a handicapped person and as such defendants' actions violated § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act which ensures certain protections to handicapped persons; (3) that C.J. was denied equal protection of the law; (4) that the Jensens, as C.J.'s parents, have been denied their right to direct the care and upbringing of their children; (5) that defendants infringed on the reputational interest of C.J. among his peers; (6) that defendants violated C.J.'s and the Jensens' privacy rights by violating § 1232(g) of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ("FERPA"); and (7) that the...