N.C. ex rel M.C. v. Bedford Cent. School Dist.

• Decision Date: 07 February 2007
• Docket Number: No. 04 Civ. 6173(SCR).,04 Civ. 6173(SCR).
• Citation: 473 F.Supp.2d 532
• Parties: Mr. and Mrs. N.C., on behalf of their son M.C., Plaintiffs, v. BEDFORD CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

473 F.Supp.2d 532

Mr. and Mrs. N.C., on behalf of their son M.C., Plaintiffs, v. BEDFORD CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT, Defendant.

No. 04 Civ. 6173(SCR).

United States District Court, S.D. New York.

February 7, 2007.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

S. Jean Smith, Santamarina & Associates, New York, NY, for plaintiffs.

Neil Martin Block, Ingerman Smith, L.L.P., Hauppauge, NY, for defendant.

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER

ROBINSON, District Judge.

I. Background

A. Procedural History

On August 10, 2004, Mr. and Mrs. N.C. (the "Plaintiffs") filed this lawsuit, on behalf of their son M.C., against the Bedford Central School District (the "Defendant") pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (the "IDEA"), 20 U.S.C. §§ 1400, et seq. The original Complaint seeks review of an April 2004 determination by New York State Department of Education State Review Officer Paul F. Kelly (the "SRO") affirming the February 2004 decision of Impartial Hearing Officer George Kandilakis ("IHO Kandilakis") which held that M.C. was not a student with a disability under the IDEA for the 2003-2004 time period because he did not meet the requirements for being emotionally disturbed. Plaintiffs, who unilaterally placed M.C. into an alternative school environment beginning in April 2003, also seek a ruling that this alternative placement was appropriate and that Plaintiffs are therefore entitled to reimbursement under the IDEA for part of the 2002-2003 school year and all of the 2003-2004 school year. Both parties submitted motions in support of their positions.

While this Court was considering those motions, Plaintiffs requested a pre-motion conference so that they could seek this Court's leave to Me a Supplemental Complaint. At a conference held on October 13, 2006, this Court granted leave to file the Supplemental Complaint as part of the original action. Plaintiffs' Supplemental Complaint seeks review of a February 2006 determination by the SRO¹ affirming the November 2005 decision of Impartial Hearing Officer Edward Luban ("IHO Luban") which held that M.C. was not a student with a disability under the IDEA for the 2004-2005 school year because he did not meet the requirements for being emotionally disturbed. Plaintiffs, who continued their unilateral placement of M.C. through the 2004-2005 school year, also seek a ruling that this alternative placement was appropriate and that Plaintiffs are therefore entitled to reimbursement under the IDEA for the 2004-2005 school year. Both parties submitted motions in support of their positions on December 13, 2006. This Court will address Plaintiffs' motions for the 2003-2004 time period and the 2004-2005 school year in a single opinion, as the two issues involve virtually identical factual and legal issues. For the reasons discussed below, this Court finds in favor of the Defendant with regard to both academic years at issue.

B. IDEA

Congress enacted the IDEA to promote the education of children with disabilities. See, e.g., Schaffer v. Weast, 546 U.S. 49, 126 S.Ct. 528, 531, 163 L.Ed.2d 387 (2005). Under the IDEA, a school district must provide each student with a disability with "special education and related services." 20 U.S.C. § 1401(9). Parents "may present complaints 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). The parents involved in such a complaint "shall have an opportunity for an impartial due process hearing." 20 U.S.C. § 1415(f). In New York, such hearings are conducted before an IHO who is appointed by the local board of education. See N.Y. Educ. L. § 4404(1). The IHO's decision may be appealed to an SRO, see N.Y. Educ. L. § 4404(2), and the SRO's decision may be challenged in either state or federal court. See 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(2)(A).

C. Facts

Beginning in 1999-2000, when M.C. was in seventh grade, Mrs. N.C.'s male cousin began a course of sexual misconduct with M.C. that included, but was not limited to, watching pornographic videos with M.C. and urging M.C. to engage in sexual intercourse with a female while the cousin watched. See N.C. ex rel M.C. v. Bedford Cent. Sch. Dist., 348 F.Supp.2d 32, 35 (S.D.N.Y.2004) (describing underlying facts); Dist. Ex. 22 at 4-5.² In May 2000, Plaintiffs obtained an Order of Protection against the cousin, but the cousin continued to contact M.C. without Plaintiffs' knowledge. 2004 IHO Tr. at 399-404. By 2001-2002, when M.C. was in ninth grade, the cousin's conduct had escalated to sodomy.³ 2004 IHO Tr. 759-60, 812-15; Dist Ex. 22 at 5. In addition to these experiences, M.C. was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and phonemic processing deficits at the age of 15, and beginning in April 2002, M.C. began receiving certain accommodations for his learning disabilities under 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. See Par. Ex. A; Dist. Ex. 12 at 2, Dist. Ex. 22 at 4.

i. 2003-2004 school year

M.C. started the 2002-2003 school year as a tenth-grade student at Fox Lane High School ("Fox Lane") in the Bedford Central School District. In or about September or October 2002, M.C. began seeing Scott Gillet, a psychotherapist, on a weekly basis, and met with him for six months. Dist. Ex. 11 at 1; Dist. Ex. 25 at 2; 2004 IHO Tr. at 824. For several months, starting approximately in January 2003, M.C. was also under the care of a psychiatrist, Dr. Elon Schwartz, who prescribed anti-depressant and anti-psychotic medications for M.C. See Dist. Ex. 11 at 1; 2004 IHO Tr. at 826-28. In December 2002, M.C. was suspended from school for fighting; he was suspended again in January 2003 for an assault on a student, and again in March 2003 for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.⁴ See Par. Ex. M at 1, 6; Dist. Ex. 32 at 1-3. Shortly after the second suspension, on March 10, 2003, Plaintiffs referred M.C. to Defendant's Committee on Special Education (the "CSE") and sought to have him classified as emotionally disturbed, which would have qualified him for educational services under the IDEA; a CSE meeting was scheduled for May 22, 2003. See Dist. Exs. 3, 9.

As part of the CSE referral process, M.C. underwent an educational evaluation on April 3, 2003 that consisted of diagnostic tests in reading, mathematics, and written language. M.C. was rated as average or above average on all components of the reading and mathematics examinations., and was rated average or above average on six of the seven sections of the writing skills examination.. In addition, the examiner concluded that M.C. "showed progress in patience, cooperation and attitude throughout the testing period," while also recommending that M.C. "should still focus on improving behavior." Dist. Ex. 10.

School Psychologist Dr. Jeffrey Shein conducted a psychological evaluation of M.C. on March 26, 2003, and issued a report on April 5, 2003. The final report was based on the results of verbal and written tests, materials completed by Plaintiffs, and an interview with M.C. Among other things, Shein concluded that M.C.'s responses to certain questions placed him at the "upper limit of the moderate range of depression," but that other indicators "failed to reach the cut-off score for clinical depression." Dist. Ex. 11 at 4. M.C. self-reported more problems than are typically reported by boys aged 11 to 18, particularly with regard to "attention problems, rule-breaking behavior, and problems of an aggressive nature." Id. at 5. Mrs. N.C.'s ratings of her son on one particular screening instrument met or exceeded the threshold scores for a range of disorders, and Mrs. N.C. also reported that M.C. had talked about killing himself. Id. at 6; 2004 IHO Tr. at 259-60. Shein later testified that M.C.'s mood was not depressed during the evaluation, and that he did not see any signs of irritability. 2004 IHO Tr. at 733-35.

School Social Worker Dr. William Reulbach submitted a social history report concerning M.C. on April 10, 2003, in which he referenced M.C.'s "extremely traumatic history beginning when he was twelve years old." Dist. Ex. 12 at 2. According to Reulbach, M.C.'s "acting out and oppositional behavior escalated during tenth grade" and "he continued to medicate his depression, with pot." Id.; see also Dist. Ex. 22 at 3-4 (updated Social History report).

M.C.'s ninth grade report card indicates final average grades in his six courses of 89, 86, 83, 83, 80, and 76, for an overall average of 84.17; M.C. was on the honor roll for three quarters in ninth grade. See Dist. Ex. 14A, 14B; 2004 IHO Tr. at 187. In tenth grade, in the final marking period before he left Fox Lane, M.C. received grades in his four classes of 84, 81, 78, and 75, though M.C.'s overall average grade in the first marking period was 71.25 and in the second marking period was 70.75.⁵ Though he was enrolled in fewer courses, M.C.'s scores in tenth grade ultimately were similar to his scores in ninth grade. See Dist. Ex. 14A, 14B.

On April 15, 2003, prior to the CSE hearing, Plaintiffs made the unilateral decision to place M.C. in the Family Foundation School ("Family Foundation"), a restrictive boarding school targeted at "students who have suffered from any form of arrested development or problem behavior." Dist. Ex. 15; Joint Ex. 1 at 7; see 2004 IHO Tr. at 174-75, 614-15. One of the central pedagogical principles of Family Foundation is that it employs "methods derived from the 12-step self-help program of Alcoholics Anonymous." Id. Family Foundation has not been approved by the New York State Education Department for special education. See 2004 IHO Tr. at 173, 444.

At the CSE session on May 22, 2003, one of M.C.'s ninth grade teachers described him as "one of the best students" in ninth grade, but noted that M.C. exhibited increased difficulty with homework completion, tests, and attending class in tenth grade. See Dist. Ex. 16 at 2....