John A. v. Board of Education

• Decision Date: 30 July 2007
• Docket Number: No. 132, Sept. Term, 2006.,132, Sept. Term, 2006.
• Citation: 929 A.2d 136,400 Md. 363
• Parties: JOHN A., et ux., Next Friends of A.A. v. BOARD OF EDUCATION FOR HOWARD COUNTY.
• Court: Court of Special Appeals of Maryland

929 A.2d 136

400 Md. 363

JOHN A., et ux., Next Friends of A.A. v. BOARD OF EDUCATION FOR HOWARD COUNTY.

No. 132, Sept. Term, 2006.

Court of Appeals of Maryland.

July 30, 2007.

Kenneth E. McPherson, Riverdale, for appellant.

Jeffrey A. Krew (Jeffrey A. Krew, LLC, Ellicott City, on brief), for appellee.

Argued before BELL, C.J., RAKER, CATHELL, HARRELL, BATTAGLIA, GREENE and ALAN M. WILNER, (Retired, specially assigned), JJ.

HARRELL, J.

We issued a writ of certiorari to the Court of Special Appeals, before it decided the appeal in this case, to consider whether the Circuit Court for Howard County erred when it affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's ("ALJ") order dismissing Appellants' due process complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ("IDEA"), 20 U.S.C. §§ 1400 to 1419 (2000 & Supp. IV 2004),¹,² and its Maryland counterpart, Maryland Code (1978, 2006 Repl.Vol.), Education Article ("Education"), §§ 8-401 to 8-417.³,⁴ The basis for the ALJ's conclusion was that the dispute involved a medical or ethical, rather than a special education, issue.

I.

A. Background

Congress passed the IDEA in order to provide "that all children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living." 20 U.S.C. § 1400(d)(1)(A). The Act also "ensure[s] that the rights of children with disabilities and parents of such children are protected." 20 U.S.C. § 1400(d)(1)(B). To encourage states to enact procedures that further the goal of providing educational services to disabled children, Congress allots public money to states that adopt regulations in accordance with the provisions of the IDEA. 20 U.S.C. § 1411(a)(1).

In order to receive federal funding, states must provide a "free appropriate public education"⁵ ("FAPE") to each individual between the ages of three and twenty-one who qualifies as a "child with a disability."⁶ 20 U.S.C. § 1412(a); accord Education § 8-403(a). In addition to direct special education programs, school systems must also provide "related services"⁷ to all children who qualify under the IDEA. 20 U.S.C. § 1411(a)(1); accord Education § 8-403(b). To determine the scope of the special education and "related services" to be provided so that disabled children may access their FAPE, the school system must evaluate each child with a disability and develop an "individualized education plan"⁸ ("IEP") to address his or her specific needs. 20 U.S.C. § 1414(b)(2); accord COMAR §§ 13A.05.01.03(B), 13A.05.01.06. The IEP consists of special instruction and support services calculated to address the child's special education and related service needs to achieve annual goals set by an IEP Team. 20 U.S.C. § 1414(d); accord COMAR § 13A.05.01.09. The IEP Team consists of teachers, administrators, health personnel, other experts, and the parents of the child who convene to analyze the needs of the child and the goals for the child's development, resulting in a written IEP outlining the program to be implemented. 20 U.S.C. § 1414(d); accord COMAR § 13A.05.01.07.

The IDEA prescribes a number of procedural safeguards that individual states must make available for parents and disabled children who claim a denial of the child's right to a FAPE.⁹ 20 U.S.C. § 1415; accord Education § 8-413. Congress intended these safeguards to protect parents' participation in the ongoing development of their child's educational program. Sch. Comm. of the Town of Burlington v. Dep't of Educ., 471 U.S. 359, 361, 105 S.Ct. 1996, 1998, 85 L.Ed.2d 385 (1985). Either a disabled child's parents or a school board may file a complaint with the appropriate educational agency "with respect to any matter relating to the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of the child, or the provision of a free appropriate public education to such child." 20 U.S.C. § 1415(b)(6); accord COMAR § 13A.05.01.15(c)(1). In such a complaint, a party may request an "impartial due process hearing, which shall be conducted by the State educational agency or by the local educational agency, as determined by State law or by the State educational agency." 20 U.S.C. § 1415(f); accord Education § 8-413(d).

Following the administrative disposition of a due process complaint, "any party aggrieved by the findings and decision ... shall have the right to bring a civil action with respect to the complaint ... which action may be brought in any State court of competent jurisdiction." 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(2)(A); accord Education § 8-413(j). The state court, in such an action, "(i) shall receive the records of the administrative proceedings; (ii) shall hear additional evidence at the request of a party; and (iii) basing its decision on the preponderance of the evidence, shall grant such relief as the court determines is appropriate." 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(2)(C).

In accordance with the requirements to receive funding from the Federal government under the IDEA, Maryland adopted Education §§ 8-401 to 8-417, which substantially mimics the language of the federal IDEA statute. Further, the Maryland statutory scheme states that "all proceedings held and decisions made pursuant to this subtitle shall be in conformance with applicable federal law."¹⁰ Education § 8-407. Accordingly, the Maryland statutory scheme provides similarly for procedural safeguards to protect the rights of disabled children and their parents. Education § 8-413. Either a disabled child's parents or a school board may lodge a due process complaint with the State educational agency and the Maryland Office of Administrative Hearings ("OAH")¹¹ "to resolve a dispute over the identification, evaluation, educational placement, or the provision of free appropriate public education, in accordance with federal law." Education § 8-413(a)(3). The ALJ appointed to hear the dispute may, "after review of the education records of the child, dismiss any request for review which does not relate to" the identification, evaluation, educational placement, or the provision of free appropriate public education to the child. Education § 8-413. As required by the IDEA, Maryland law authorizes judicial review of these administrative decisions by the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland or by the circuit court for the county in which the child resides. Education § 8-413(j); Md.Code (1984, Repl. Vol.2004, Supp.2006), State Government Article, § 10-222.¹² A party aggrieved by the final judgment of a circuit court may appeal to the Court of Special Appeals in the manner that the law provides for appeal of civil cases. Md.Code (1984, Repl.Vol.2004, Supp.2006), State Government Article, § 10-223(b).

B. The Present Case

The dispute in this case arose during the 2002-03 and 2003-04 school years, while John A.'s daughter, A.A., was attending Rockburn Elementary in Howard County. Appellee, the Board of Education for Howard County, administers the Howard County Public Schools ("HCPS"). During all times relevant to this litigation, A.A. qualified as a "child with a disability," pursuant to the IDEA, because she suffered from Bi-Polar Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ("ADHD"), and Sensory Integration Disorder. As a result, beginning in October 2002, A.A. received special education and certain related services from the HCPS in accordance with an IEP developed and implemented by A.A.'s parents, a special education teacher, a psychologist, an occupational therapist, a behavior specialist, and the principal of Rockburn Elementary School (the IEP Team). The IEP applicable to A.A., under "Special Education and Related Services," listed "Instruction," "Psychological Services," and "Occupational Therapy" as the services to be provided by the HCPS.¹³ In addition to the IEP and the IEP "Team Meeting Summary" documents, the parents signed a "Request for Records" form consenting to the release of A.A.'s confidential psychiatric records to the HCPS, expressly conditioned on the parents being informed before the HCPS or its agents and employees contacted A.A.'s psychiatrist.

In accordance with an agreement with the HCPS signed by A.A.'s treating psychiatrist, Dr. Harold Eist, the school nurse at Rockburn administered to A.A. two medications, Geodon and Neurontin, during the 2002-03 school year.¹⁴ During the school year, teachers and health room personnel at Rockburn observed A.A. as being lethargic and drowsy, sometimes falling asleep in class and in the health room.

In August 2003, Dr. Eist added another medication, Inderal, to the child's drug regimen to treat her ADHD and Bi-Polar Disorder. Shortly thereafter, in early October 2003, a school nurse wrote to Dr. Eist to inform him that, at the time A.A. was administered her medications, Rockburn staff observed that, prior to the administration of her medications, A.A. was lethargic and had fallen asleep in class, and that her apical pulse rate was between 110 and 142. The letter explained that, during classroom observations, school health personnel noticed that A.A.'s eyes were closed several times, that she was lying sideways on her desk with her head resting on her arm, had a dazed or staring expression, and appeared not to be focusing on her lessons. As a result, the school nurse requested clarification from Dr. Eist concerning the administration of A.A.'s medications when possible symptoms contraindicating further drug administration were noted and sought boundary standards as to when the medication should be withheld. A copy of this letter was sent to the parents.¹⁵

On 15 October 2003, A.A.'s parents informed Dr. Eist that it was their understanding from the nurse's letter that the HCPS sought discretion to refrain from administering the child's medications based upon its physical observations. The parents expressed their...