Renguette v. Board of School Trustees

• Decision Date: 31 March 2008
• Docket Number: No. 1:05-cv-01548-SEB-JMS.,1:05-cv-01548-SEB-JMS.
• Citation: 540 F.Supp.2d 1036
• Parties: Andrea RENGUETTE, Individually and as Mother, Natural Guardian, and Next Friend on behalf of J.R., a Minor, Plaintiffs, v. The BOARD OF SCHOOL TRUSTEES for and on behalf of the BROWNSBURG COMMUNITY SCHOOL CORPORATION, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Indiana

540 F.Supp.2d 1036

Andrea RENGUETTE, Individually and as Mother, Natural Guardian, and Next Friend on behalf of J.R., a Minor, Plaintiffs, v. The BOARD OF SCHOOL TRUSTEES for and on behalf of the BROWNSBURG COMMUNITY SCHOOL CORPORATION, et al., Defendants.

No. 1:05-cv-01548-SEB-JMS.

United States District Court, S.D. Indiana, Indianapolis Division.

March 31, 2008.

Jason A. Shartzer, The Law Offices of Buddy Yosha, Robert Arthur Hutchens,

Hutchens & Young LLP, Indianapolis, IN, for Plaintiff.

Marsha Volk Bugalla, Thomas E. Wheeler, II, Locke Reynolds LLP, Indianapolis, IN, Betty Marie Harrington, William O. Harrington, P.C., William O. Harrington, Harrington Law, P.C., Danville, IN, for Defendants.

ENTRY GRANTING SCHOOL DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

SARAH EVANS BARKER, District Judge.

This cause comes before the Court on the Motion for Summary Judgment [Docket No. 98] filed by the Board of School Trustees for and on behalf of the Brownsburg Community School Corporation ("the School"), as well as seven named officials and employees of the School (collectively, "the School Defendants").¹ Plaintiff Andrea Renguette filed suit individually and on behalf of her minor daughter, J.R., alleging that D.A.V., also a minor, sexually assaulted J.R. on numerous occasions while they were riding on the school bus. Ms. Renguette's suit asserts fifty-nine claims related to this alleged conduct, pursuant to numerous federal civil rights statutes, Indiana law, and the United States and Indiana Constitutions. The School Defendants are named in fifty-eight of these counts, and here seek summary judgment as to each of them. For the reasons detailed in this entry, we GRANT School Defendants' motion in its entirety.

Factual Background²

We have discussed the facts underlying this dispute at some length in our prior entries in this cause [Docket Nos. 159, 194] and reiterate them here to the extent that they are relevant to the issues now before the Court. In the fall of 2003, J.R. was a seventh-grader at Brownsburg Junior High School, and was assigned to ride Bus # 35 to school. D.A.V. was a ninth-grader at Brownsburg High School, and also rode Bus # 35. Corbin Aff. ¶¶ 18, 19.

Brownsburg Community School Corporation bus drivers were required to assign seats to the students being transported on the school bus in order to minimize discipline problems and assist drivers in accounting for students; however, drivers were granted discretion as to what specific seating assignments were made. Hadley Aff. ¶ 16. Connie Hadley, the driver of Bus # 35, generally required elementary school students to sit toward the front of the bus, and assigned older students to sit toward the back. She allowed students to select specific seats during the first few days of school and then developed a seating chart based on these preferences, while retaining discretion to reassign a student if necessary. Id. ¶ 17.

Ms. Renguette alleges in her Complaint (but, notably, does not support with evidence for purposes of the present motion) that the school bus was equipped with a system of security cameras designed to allow the driver to ensure the safety of the student passengers, but that Ms. Hadley kept the monitor turned off. Compl. ¶¶ 49, 52, 55. Defendant John McCloud, Director of Transportation for Brownsburg Community School Corporation, testified in his affidavit that Bus # 35 was, indeed, equipped with a four-camera digital video recording ("DVR") system; however, the DVR recorder was located in a locked cabinet at the back of the bus. The bus was not equipped with a video monitor from which recordings could be viewed. In order to view the recordings, it would be necessary to unlock the cabinet, remove a removable hard drive, and install the hard drive onto a specially equipped computer, which was kept in the office of the Director of Transportation. Mr. McCloud testified that the video equipment was not intended to supervise activity on the bus; rather, its purpose was to create a record to which resort could be had in the event of an incident which could give rise to a dispute (e.g., an accident). McCloud Aff. ¶¶ 18-27.

At some point during the fall semester, J.R. asked Ms. Hadley if she could move seats in order to sit next to D.A.V. Ms. Hadley granted J.R.'s request as neither of the students had previously misbehaved to Ms. Hadley's knowledge. Ms. Hadley stated in her affidavit that she believes D.A.V. and J.R. sat together on the right side of the bus, approximately five or six rows from the back. Id. ¶ 24.

According to the Complaint, during November and December of 2003, Ms. Renguette noted a marked decline in J.R.'s mood and discovered that J.R. had begun mutilating herself with knives. Compl. ¶ 62. On December 19, 2003, Ms. Renguette took her daughter to a mental health counselor, to whom J.R. allegedly reported that she had been sexually molested and that she had been contemplating suicide. The counselor subsequently recommended psychiatric evaluation and therapy for J.R. Id. ¶¶ 63-66, 69.

On January 5, 2004, the first day of school after the winter break, Ms. Renguette visited the school and informed Ms. Stader, a guidance counselor, that she had learned about sexual conduct taking place between her daughter and D.A.V. on Bus # 35.³ Ms. Stader consulted with Ms. Smith, the assistant principal, who requested that Ms. Renguette submit a written complaint. Stader Aff. ¶ 16, Smith Aff. ¶ 16. The School Defendants attest that none of them had any knowledge of the activity on the bus before this complaint was made. Defs.' Mem. at 21 (citing affidavits).

The following day, Ms. Smith met with J.R. in order to further investigate Ms. Renguette's complaint. In the meeting, J.R. informed Ms. Smith that she knew why she had been called to Ms. Smith's office, and admitted that sexual activity between her and D.A.V. had occurred on the school bus. Smith Aff. ¶¶ 22-25. J.R. also gave Ms. Smith the name of another student whom J.R. believed had knowledge of the conduct; Ms. Smith spoke with this student, who in turn disclosed another name of a potential witness to the conduct, and Ms. Smith spoke with this student as well. Id. ¶ 26.

Brownsburg school policy prohibits sexual activity on school property, and provides that a student may be expelled for such an offense. Smith Ex. 4; Corbin Aff. ¶ 24. Ms. Smith, in conjunction with Mr. Doss, the Junior High Principal, determined that J.R. should be expelled, and immediately suspended her pending an expulsion hearing. Doss Aff. ¶ 18. Ms. Smith notified J.R. and Ms. Renguette of J.R.'s suspension pending expulsion immediately following her interview on January 6, 2004. Smith Aff. ¶ 27. The principal of Brownsburg High School initiated similar disciplinary action for D.A.V.⁴ Corbin Aff. ¶ 28. Both principals made such recommendations to Superintendent Corbin, who appointed Assistant Superintendent Viars as Hearing Examiner for both cases. Id. ¶¶ 28-29.

According to the Complaint, on January 11, 2004, a Sunday afternoon, the. School dispatched a uniformed police officer to J.R.'s home, who personally served upon her written notice that an expulsion hearing was to take place the next day. Compl. ¶ 89. The Complaint asserts that "as a direct, proximate and immediate result" of her suspension and her encounter with the police officer informing her of the expulsion hearing, J.R. "suffered shock, immediate and severe emotional distress and the exacerbation of her pre-existing emotional injury and/or disabling medical condition." Id. ¶ 93.

The next day, Ms. Renguette took J.R. to Cummins Mental Health Center, where "it was determined that J.R. was probably suffering a major depressive episode with suicidal ideation" and that she was planning to commit suicide rather than endure the expulsion hearing, in addition to the "severe emotional distress" she was already suffering as a result of the previously occurring sexual acts. Id. ¶ 94. J.R. was admitted immediately to Valle Vista Hospital, a mental health facility, where she remained until January 24, 2004; her expulsion hearing was postponed during this time. For several weeks during and after J.R.'s hospitalization, her teachers provided Ms. Renguette with J.R.'s school assignments, so she could stay up to date with her school work. Smith Aff. ¶ 34.

On January 30, 2004, J.R.'s expulsion hearing was held. J.R. was represented by counsel. According to the written record of the hearing, Ms. Smith described the situation and recommended expulsion through the second semester of the 2003-2004 school year. J.R. testified that she had engaged in sexual activity as reported. Counsel for J.R. requested that the school evaluate J.R. for a disability, and Ms. Renguette requested an evaluation for Special Education following the suspension. Viars Ex. 8.

Upon the conclusion of the hearing, the Hearing Examiner found that J.R. had committed misconduct that violated the Brownsburg Junior High School Student Handbook, and was an expellable offense under school policy and Indiana law. The Hearing Examiner ordered J.R. to undergo counseling and perform twenty hours of community service; upon the completion of both conditions, she was to be permitted to return to school.⁵ Upon her return, J.R. would initially be placed in the In School Suspension Program to become oriented back into the system; Ms. Stader and Ms. Smith were to determine when J.R. would be able to return to her normal classes. J.R. was also prohibited from riding the school bus through the conclusion of the semester. Id.

On February 25, 2004, J.R.'s doctor signed a release permitting J.R. to return to school; she returned the following day and commenced her regular seventh-grade classes.⁶ On the day of her return, the school psychologist began an evaluation to determine if J.R. was eligible for Special Education. J.R. completed the remainder of the school year in her regular classes and was promoted...