Smith v. Henderson

• Decision Date: 15 May 2013
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 13–420 (JEB).
• Citation: 944 F.Supp.2d 89
• Parties: Shannon Marie SMITH, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Kaya HENDERSON, Chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

944 F.Supp.2d 89

Shannon Marie SMITH, et al., Plaintiffs,
v.
Kaya HENDERSON, Chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools, et al., Defendants.

Civil Action No. 13–420 (JEB).

United States District Court,
District of Columbia.

May 15, 2013.

[944 F.Supp.2d 92]

Johnny Barnes, John C. Brittain, Washington, DC, for Plaintiff.

Douglas Stuart Rosenbloom, Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, Keith David Parsons, District of Columbia Office of the Attorney General, Washington, DC, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION
JAMES E. BOASBERG, District Judge.

The public-education landscape in the District of Columbia has changed. The advent of public charter schools, coupled with demographic shifts, has resulted in substantially decreased enrollment in certain neighborhoods over the last fifteen years. In response, the District of Columbia Public Schools has promulgated its Consolidation and Reorganization Plan, which closes fifteen under-utilized schools, reassigns those students, and reallocates the savings to other schools—all in an effort to maximize resources and improve education citywide. Plaintiffs—guardians of children who attend closing schools and Advisory Neighborhood Commission members whose districts allegedly comprise such schools—have brought this suit,

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claiming that the closures violate a host of constitutional, federal, and state provisions. They assert, in essence, that the closures discriminate against poor, minority, and disabled students and were enacted without sufficient ANC input. Hoping to block the implementation of the Plan, Plaintiffs now ask this Court for a preliminary injunction.

Few topics, understandably, incite our passions more than the education of our children. Toss into the mix the future of neighborhood institutions, whose familiarity and history may resonate deeply, and quite a volatile brew emerges. It is thus hardly surprising that assorted constituencies may possess varied opinions on the wisdom and necessity of the Plan and Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson's strategy. Yet every adverse policy decision does not yield a constitutional claim. In this case, there is no evidence whatsoever of any intent to discriminate on the part of Defendants, who are actually transferring children out of weaker, more segregated, and under-enrolled schools. The remedy Plaintiffs seek— i.e., to remain in such schools—seems curious, given that these are the conditions most people typically endeavor to escape. In any event, as Plaintiffs have no likelihood of ultimate success on the merits of their suit, they cannot prevail in this Motion here.

I. Background

While the parties quarrel about the legal analysis, the underlying facts here are essentially uncontested.

A. Factual Background

The District of Columbia Public Schools runs the District's traditional, local public-school system. SeeD.C.Code §§ 38–171 to –172. As Chancellor, Kaya Henderson acts as DCPS's chief executive officer. SeeD.C.Code § 38–174(a). Not all D.C. public schools fall within DCPS's sphere, however. In 1996, Congress authorized the operation of charter schools in the District, which exist as public schools outside of DCPS control. See District of Columbia School Reform Act of 1995, Pub.L. No. 104–134, 110 Stat. 1321–107 (1996). Since then, children in many parts of the city have flocked to charters; indeed, more than half of public-school students in Wards 1, 5, and 7 and more than a third in Wards 4, 6, and 8 now attend public charter schools instead of DCPS schools. See Opp., Exh. B (Office of Chancellor, DCPS, DCPS Proposed Consolidations and Reorganization: Better Schools for All Students (“ Proposed Consolidation Plan ”) (Nov. 15, 2012)) at 8. By contrast, only 14% of students in Ward 2 attend charters, and no Ward 3 student does. See id. The number of school-age children has likewise fallen across the city, although—again—unevenly. While the population of school-age children in the last ten years has decreased by at least 1500 children in each of Wards 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 (including nearly 4000 in Ward 8), Ward 2 has lost only 761 children, and Ward 3 has actually gained 272 children during that time. See id. at 7. As a result, many DCPS schools are only partially full—particularly in certain parts of the city.

Responding to these demographic shifts and after obtaining recommendations from an educational consulting company, see Opp., Exh. A (Memorandum from Educ. Res. Strategies to Chancellor Henderson (Aug. 17, 2012)), in November 2012, Chancellor Henderson proposed closing twenty under-enrolled DCPS schools over the next two years. See Proposed Consolidation Plan at 16. Most of those slated for closure used less than half of their buildings' capacities, and five schools had building-utilization rates under 25%. See id. at 17–22. DCPS explained that closing these

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under-enrolled schools would decrease overhead, allowing schools to spend less per pupil, while putting more students in modern facilities and giving more students access to programs and staff that can be justified only for large schools, thereby improving the overall quality of education. See id. at 10–14. Plaintiffs question whether the closings will actually bring down spending, pointing out that similar benefits projected from DCPS closures in 2008 never materialized. See Reply at 3 & n. 4 (citing Exh. F (Yolanda Branche, D.C. Auditor, Audit of the Closure and Consolidation of 23 Public Schools (Sept. 6, 2012))). Fourteen of the twenty schools proposed for closure were in Wards 5, 7, and 8, plus two schools each in Wards 2, 4, and 6. See Proposed Consolidation Plan at 16. The proposal suggested no changes in Wards 1 or 3. See id. at 23 (building-utilization rate is 74% in Ward 1 and 109% in Ward 3).

To promote its proposal and gather community feedback, DCPS took its show on the road. The City Council held two hearings on the closures. See Opp., Exh. D (Office of Chancellor, DCPS, Better Schools for All Students: DCPS' Consolidation and Reorganization Plan (“ Final Consolidation Plan ”) (Jan. 2013)) at 2. DCPS itself convened meetings throughout the city, including four ward-based public meetings that drew 780 participants. See id. In addition, DCPS e-mailed ANC Commissioners with schools slated for closure in their districts, along with some of the incoming ANC Commissioners-elect, to ask for reactions. See Defs. Notice of Correction & Clarification, Exh. A (Decl. of Shanita Burney, Exh. 1 (E-mail from Josephine Robinson, DCPS, to ANC Commissioners (Nov. 13, 2012))). DCPS also sent a summary of the proposal home in the backpack of every child attending a school on the closure list. See Opp., Exh. C (Decl. of Peter Weber), ¶ 7.

This desire for community input was no charade. On the contrary, the feedback yielded real changes in DCPS's final Plan, released January 17, 2013. Five schools proposed for closure will now remain open: two in Ward 2, one in Ward 7, and two in Ward 8. See Final Consolidation Plan at 4–5. At five other schools, moreover, assignments for the departing students changed. See id. In choosing schools to receive the students, DCPS particularly focused on “safety and walkability.” Id. at 7. DCPS estimated that savings from the revised proposal would total $8.5 million, see id.—an estimate that Plaintiffs, of course, contest—which sum would then be plowed back into schools throughout the city. See id. at 6.

All fifteen schools on the final closure list lie east of Rock Creek Park, a historical dividing line within the city. East of the Park, residents are generally poorer and overwhelmingly black and Hispanic; west of the Park, residents are wealthier and mostly white. The halls of the closing schools reflect those demographics. In DCPS schools as a whole, 68.4% of students are black; 13.8% are Hispanic; 3.7% are Asian, other, or unknown; and 9.2% are white. See Mot., Exh. A (Aff. of Mary Levy), ¶ 16. In the schools slated for closure, by contrast, 93.7% of students are black; 5.9% are Hispanic; 0.4% are Asian, other, or unknown; and less than 0.1% (2 out of 3053) are white. See id. The figures skew similarly, if less starkly, for disabled students: 27.7% of students in the closing schools are in special education, versus 14.2% of students in DCPS overall. See id.

The D.C. Council will meet on May 22 to consider the Mayor's proposed budget, which reflects the school closures. While the Council (like any other legislative body) may alter funding levels, see

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D.C.Code § 38–173(b), the District assured the Court during the preliminary-injunction hearing that the Mayor's decision to proceed with the school consolidation is final. The school-closure Plan is therefore ripe for judicial review.

B. Procedural Background

Seeking to block implementation of the Plan, five Plaintiffs filed this suit in D.C. Superior Court on March 29, 2013, naming Chancellor Henderson, Mayor Vincent Gray, and the District of Columbia as Defendants. (The Court will collectively refer to all Defendants as “the District.”) Two Plaintiffs—Karlene Armstead and Ericka Black—are ANC Commissioners who say they never received the legally required notice of the school closures. See Compl., ¶¶ 2, 5, 65. The other three Plaintiffs—Shannon Smith, Marlece Turner, and Brenda Williams—are guardians of children who attend schools slated for closure. See Mot., Exh. D (Aff. of Shannon Smith), ¶¶ 1–2; Mot., Exh. E (Aff. of Marlece Turner), ¶ 1; Mot., Exh. G (Aff. of Brenda Williams), ¶ 1. All of the guardians' children are black or Hispanic and live east of the Park. See Compl., ¶¶ 28, 30. Two have serious disabilities that will allegedly make the disruptions caused by the school closures particularly difficult. See Turner Aff., ¶¶ 5, 9–10 (Asperger's and ADHD); Williams Aff., ¶¶ 1–2, 7, 9 (unable to walk or talk and frequent seizures). While the Complaint does not say so directly, both sides have assumed...