Swanson v. Guthrie Independent School Dist. No. I-1, CIV-95-596-M.
| Decision Date | 30 September 1996 |
| Docket Number | No. CIV-95-596-M.,CIV-95-596-M. |
| Citation | 942 F.Supp. 511 |
| Parties | Annie SWANSON, a minor child by and through her parents and next friends, Dennis SWANSON and Lucy Swanson, Plaintiffs, v. GUTHRIE INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. I-1; Melvin Scheihing, President; Karl Kinney, 1st Vice President; Rick Davis, 2nd Vice President; Hugh Plagg, Member; Evans Fowler, Member; Robert Hudson, Member; Janna Pierson, Member; Don Bowman, Superintendent; J.E. Haney, Principal, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Oklahoma |
Todd A. McKinnis, The McAlister Law Firm, Edmond, OK, A. Daniel Woska, Conner L. Helms, Woska Hasbrook Underwood Dowd & Helms, Oklahoma City, OK, V. Glenn Coffee, II, Oklahoma City, OK, Kelly Shackleford, Dallas, TX, for Dennis Swanson, Lucy Swanson, parents and next friend of Annie Swanson.
Frederick J. Hegenbart, Jerry A. Richardson, Rosenstein Fist & Ringold, Tulsa, OK, for Guthrie Independent School District No. I-1, Melvin Scheihing, Karl Kinney, Rick Davis, Hugh Plagg, Evans G. Fowler, Robert Hudson, Janna Pierson, Don Bowman, J.E. Haney.
Before the Court are the following motions:
1) Defendants' Motion to Dismiss filed on June 2, 1995. Plaintiffs responded in opposition on July 6, 1995. Both parties submitted evidentiary materials outside the pleadings which have been considered by the Court. Accordingly, the Court must treat defendants' motion as one for summary judgment. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b);
2) Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment filed on July 6, 1995. Defendants responded in opposition on August 7, 1995; and
3) Motion for Summary Judgment of Defendants Scheihing, Kinney, Davis, Plagg, Fowler, Hudson, Pierson, Bowman, and Haney (collectively known as "Individual Defendants") Based On Qualified Immunity. Plaintiffs responded in opposition on September 6, 1995.
Because all three motions concern the same issues, the Court will address all three in this Order. Based upon the parties' briefs and evidentiary submissions, the Court makes its determination.
The following are the undisputed facts in this case. Plaintiff Annie Swanson ("Annie"), a minor child, is home schooled by her parents, Plaintiffs Dennis Swanson and Lucy Swanson (the "Swansons" or collectively "Plaintiffs"). During the second semester of the 1993-1994 school year, then Superintendent of the Guthrie School District, Dr. Jeff Maddox, permitted Annie to enroll in two one hour 7th grade classes at Guthrie Junior High School. Annie was also permitted to pre-enroll in several 8th grade classes for the 1994-1995 school year. It is undisputed that Dr. Maddox acted without consulting or informing the Guthrie School District Board of Education ("Board"). Before school started for the fall 1994 semester, the Swansons were informed by the new Superintendent, Don Bowman, that they would have to take their request for Annie to attend classes on a part-time basis to the Board.
On August 23, 1994, the Swansons presented their request to the Board at a special meeting. The Board voted to table until the September 12, 1994 regular meeting, any action regarding a policy on whether or not to allow private school and home schooled students to attend schools in the Guthrie School District on a part-time basis by enrolling in select classes. The Board also voted that Annie must enroll as a full-time student if she wished to attend Guthrie Junior High School before a policy was in place. On September 12, 1994, the Board adopted a policy that required all students enrolling in Guthrie Public Schools to do so on a full-time basis. On October 17, 1994, upon a request by the Swansons for reconsideration, the Board scheduled a special meeting to allow the Swansons' attorneys to address the Board and submit additional materials in support of their position. After the hearing and after a meeting in executive session, the Board again voted to adopt the policy as previously approved on September 12, 1994 with the following provision added: "In the event the State Department of Education advises us that part-time students can be counted for state aid purposes, the Board will reconsider this policy."
It is further undisputed that the Oklahoma State Department of Education is the agency of the State of Oklahoma charged with supervising and administering the public school system in Oklahoma. The State Department of Education calculates state aid available to each public school district, which is based on the number of students enrolled at each district. State Department of Education regulations provide that part-time students may not be counted for purposes of calculating state aid.
The Plaintiffs filed this action seeking to compel the Guthrie School District to allow Annie to attend classes as a part-time student. Plaintiffs seek to enroll Annie in several selected courses and provide the remainder of her education through home schooling. Plaintiffs allege the Board's denial of their request violates several of their state and federal constitutional rights. Plaintiffs' complaint sets forth five causes of action:
1) A violation of their constitutional right to attend public schools and to a free public education;
2) A violation of their constitutional right to direct the upbringing and education of their child 3) A violation of their constitutional right to free exercise of religion provided by the First Amendment;
4) A violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act ("RFRA"), 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb et seq.1; and
5) A violation of the Oklahoma Governmental Tort Claims Act (a state claim). Plaintiffs also requested injunctive relief.2
Defendants deny any violation of Plaintiffs' constitutional rights and seek judgment as a matter of law on all of Plaintiffs' claims.
Plaintiffs allege defendants' action in denying Annie the right to attend Guthrie Junior High School on a part-time basis has deprived Annie of her right to a free public education. By requiring Annie to attend public school full time, Plaintiffs argue, defendants are forcing Plaintiffs to compromise their religious beliefs and parental right to direct Annie's education and are "thereby denying her the fundamental right to a free public education and all of the profound interactive experiences this would provide for Annie." See Plaintiffs' Response to Defendants' Motion to Dismiss and Motion for Summary Judgment ("Plaintiffs' Response Brief") at 21-22 (July 6, 1995).
Defendants contend Plaintiffs are in actuality asserting they have been deprived of a property interest in public education without due process of law. While defendants do not disagree with Plaintiffs that Oklahoma law vests Annie with a property interest in free public education, defendants contend Plaintiffs do not possess a property interest in a free part-time public education. Furthermore, defendants argue, even assuming Dr. Maddox's actions created a property interest in a part-time education, Plaintiffs received all the process that was due because they had the opportunity to be heard by the Board at a meaningful time and in a meaningful manner before any action was taken with regard to Annie's attendance as a part-time student.
It is well settled law that property interests are not created by the Constitution but must be defined by an independent source such as state law. Board of Regents of State Colleges v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 92 S.Ct. 2701, 33 L.Ed.2d 548 (1972). Both parties agree the Oklahoma Constitution defines Annie's right to a free public education. Article 1, Section 5 of the Oklahoma Constitution states: "Provisions shall be made for the establishment and maintenance of a system of public schools, which shall be open to all of the children of the state and free from sectarian control...." Article XIII, Section 1 of the Oklahoma Constitution also provides: "The Legislature shall establish and maintain a system of free public schools wherein all the children of the State may be educated."
There is likewise no dispute that Annie's parents have a state constitutional right to home school their daughter. Article XIII, section 4 of the Oklahoma Constitution states: "The Legislature shall provide for the compulsory attendance at some public or other school, unless other means of education are provided...." Furthermore, the Oklahoma courts have clearly found that home schooling satisfies the "other means of education" requirement. Wright v. State, 21 Okla.Crim. 430, 209 P. 179 (App.1922). The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals also noted the "other means of education" must be provided in good faith and "equivalent to those afforded by the state" and these issues were questions of law, not of fact. Id., 209 P. at 180-81. See also Op.Atty.Gen. 73-129 ().
The Court therefore agrees with defendants' conclusion that home schooling is considered an alternative education option. The Court further agrees that Plaintiffs seek to "judicially abrogate the equivalency requirement for home schooling and replace it with an absolute right to use the public schools to supplement the home school education." See Brief of Defendants in Response to Motion for Preliminary Injunction and in Support of Motion to Dismiss ("Defendants' Response Brief") at 9 (June 2, 1995). This the Court will not do.
Plaintiffs have failed to provide any evidence that defendants have deprived Annie of her right to a free public education. Annie has always been and continues to be entitled to a free public education. Nor have Plaintiffs provided any support for their contention that they may "pick and choose" what courses Annie will take in the public schools. Oklahoma law is clear that the local boards of education...
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