Stancourt v. Worthington City School Dist.
| Citation | 164 Ohio App.3d 184,841 N.E.2d 812,2005 Ohio 5702 |
| Decision Date | 27 October 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. 04AP-870.,04AP-870. |
| Parties | STANCOURT et al., Appellants and Cross-Appellees, v. WORTHINGTON CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF EDUCATION, Appellee and Cross-Appellant. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Ohio |
Stein, Chapin & Associates, L.L.C., Lance Chapin, Amanda K. Zibners, Columbus, and Beth J. Nacht, for appellants and cross-appellees.
Bricker & Eckler, L.L.P., Nicholas A. Pittner, Susan E. Geary, and Jennifer A. Flint, Columbus, for appellee and cross-appellant.
{¶ 1} Appellants and cross-appellees, Warren and Tammy Stancourt, appeal from a judgment of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas related to an administrative appeal under R.C. 3323.05. Appellee and cross-appellant, Worthington City School District Board of Education, cross-appeals and moves to dismiss the instant appeal for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. For the reasons that follow, we deny appellee's motion to dismiss this appeal, and we affirm in part and reverse in part the judgment of the common pleas court.
{¶ 2} This matter arises from appellee's purported violation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ("IDEA"), Section 1400 et seq., Title 20, U.S.Code. In Austintown Local School Dist. Bd. of Edn. v. Mahoning Cty. Bd. of Mental Retardation & Dev. Disabilities (1993), 66 Ohio St.3d 355, 613 N.E.2d 167, the Supreme Court of Ohio described the IDEA as follows:
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ("IDEA"), Section 1400 et seq., Title 20, U.S.Code, provides federal funding to assist state and local educational agencies in educating children with disabilities. The purpose of IDEA is "to assure that all children with disabilities have available to them * * * a free appropriate public education which emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs, to assure that the rights of children with disabilities and their parents or guardians are protected, to assist States and localities to provide for the education of all children with disabilities, and to assess and assure the effectiveness of efforts to educate children with disabilities."
Id. at 360, 613 N.E.2d 167, quoting former Section 1400(c), Title 20, U.S.Code.
{¶ 3} Id. (Footnote omitted.) See, generally, Ohio Adm.Code Chapter 3301-51.
{¶ 4} "Incorporated in R.C. Chapter 3323 is the purpose of IDEA: to provide handicapped children a free, appropriate public education tailored to the unique needs of each child by developing an IEP [individualized education program] which places the child in the least restrictive environment." Id. at 360, 613 N.E.2d 167, citing R.C. 3323.01(D) and (E), 3323.02, 3323.08(C); former Ohio Adm.Code 3301-51-02(E)(1)(d)(iv).
{¶ 5} According to the evidence, the Stancourts' minor son received special education services through the Worthington City School District. During the 2001-2002 academic year, when the Stancourts' son was in sixth grade, a dispute arose between the Stancourts and the school district concerning their son's individualized education program ("IEP"). Specifically, the Stancourts claim that the board of education violated the IDEA when it allegedly unilaterally changed their son's IEP, when it failed to comply with the IDEA's procedural safeguards, and when it allegedly misled the Stancourts concerning its intention to implement proposed changes.
{¶ 6} In January 2002, an IEP was created to address the educational needs of the Stancourts' son. Both the Stancourts and the school district agreed to the program contained in this IEP. Thereafter, three addenda, dated February 8, March 12,1 and April 10, 2002, were added to the IEP of January 2002. The Stancourts claim that they never agreed to the addendum of April 10, 2002, when they met with school officials on April 10, 2002.2 The Stancourts further claim that after the meeting of April 10, 2002, the school district failed to provide them with timely notice that changes in their son's IEP, which were based upon the addendum of April 10, 2002, had been implemented.
{¶ 7} On May 28, 2002, the Stancourts and representatives from the school district met to discuss an IEP program for the Stancourts' son for the next academic year. Three days later, the Stancourts filed for a due-process hearing; however, they later withdrew this request.
{¶ 8} On June 7, 2002, without the Stancourts in attendance, representatives from the school district met to discuss the Stancourts' son's IEP for the upcoming academic year. Following this meeting, the school district notified the Stancourts about the proposed IEP of June 7, 2002; however, the Stancourts did not consent to that IEP, and ultimately it was not implemented.
{¶ 9} On August 26, 2002, the Stancourts again requested a due-process hearing, claiming that the basis for this request was identical to the issues raised in their previous due-process-hearing request of May 31, 2002. In the May 31, 2002 request, the Stancourts stated:
The reasons are the addendum, dated April 10, which Worthington Schools implemented without our consent or participation and the new IEP which has been drafted and which eliminates all reference to social skills needs. Also, the lack of a social skills goal and objectives in the current IEP.
{¶ 10} Pursuant to R.C. 3323.05(E), the Stancourts' complaint was referred to an impartial hearing examiner ("IHO"). The IHO concluded that the IEP of January 2002, with the addenda dated February 8, March 12, and April 10, 2002, constituted the Stancourts' son's IEP. During the proceedings before the IHO, an issue arose concerning the Stancourts' refusal to consent to release of their son's medical and mental-health-treatment records to the school district.
{¶ 11} After the Stancourts failed to comply with the IHO's order to grant release of their son's records, the school district moved the IHO to dismiss the matter with prejudice. In response, the Stancourts informed the IHO that they intended to grant the school district access to the requested records.
{¶ 12} In January 2003, after the Stancourts had failed to comply with the IHO's order to grant the school district access to the requested records, the school district again sought dismissal with prejudice of the Stancourts' action. Later, after the Stancourts retained legal counsel, the IHO granted a request for additional time to reply to the school district's request for dismissal. After receiving no response from the Stancourts or their legal counsel, the IHO dismissed the Stancourts' appeal with prejudice.
{¶ 13} Thereafter, the Stancourts appealed from the IHO's decision to the state board of education, which appointed a state-level reviewing officer ("SLRO") to consider their appeal. Finding that the IHO erred in dismissing the action with prejudice, the SLRO amended the IHO's order to a dismissal without prejudice, subject to reopening after the Stancourts complied with the order to grant the school district access to their son's records.
{¶ 14} The Stancourts then appealed from the SLRO's order to the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas. In common pleas case No. 03CVF-06-6746, the common pleas court dismissed the Stancourts' appeal because their notice of appeal failed to comply with mandatory requirements of R.C. 119.12.3 However, in its decision filed October 31, 2003, the common pleas court also concluded that because the state board of education failed to fully comply with the procedural requirements of R.C. 119.09, the appeal period had not commenced and, as a consequence, appellants were not barred from filing a timely, proper notice of appeal. Appellee did not appeal from this judgment.
{¶ 15} On November 14, 2003, in case No. 03CFV-11-12578, the Stancourts again appealed from the SLRO's decision to the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas. In a judgment entry filed July 27, 2004, the common pleas court reversed decisions of the IHO and SLRO and remanded the matter with instructions to set a new hearing date. The common pleas court further found that the school district was entitled to the records that the Stancourts intended to offer at the hearings and to foundational materials relied upon by any expert that the Stancourts intended to call at the hearings. The common pleas court further found that a "stay-put" issue was not moot. The common pleas court also determined that the decision of the IHO to allow implementation of the April 2002 addendum was correct and that this addendum properly should be considered part of the Stancourts' son's IEP.
{¶ 16} From the common pleas court's judgment of July 27, 2004, appellants appeal and appellee cross-appeals. Appellee also moves this court to dismiss the instant appeal for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.
{¶ 17} In its motion to dismiss, appellee asserts that the common pleas court erroneously applied the procedural requirements set forth in R.C. 119.09 and, construing R.C. 3323.05, further asserts that appellants' appeal is untimely. Appellee therefore reasons that the common pleas court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction and, consequently, this court also lacks subject-matter jurisdiction.
{¶ 18} Pratts v. Hurley, 102 Ohio St.3d 81, 2004-Ohio-1980, 806 N.E.2d 992, at ¶ 34; see, also, Morrison v. Steiner (1972), 32 Ohio St.2d 86, 61 O.O.2d 335, 290 N.E.2d 841, paragraph one of the syllabus ("Subject-matter jurisdiction of a court connotes the power...
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