Traverse City Area Pub. Sch. v. Mich. Dep't Of Educ.

• Decision Date: 04 August 2010
• Docket Number: No. 08-1228.,08-1228.
• Citation: 615 F.3d 622
• Parties: TRAVERSE BAY AREA INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL DISTRICT; Traverse City Area Public Schools, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION; Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth; Michigan State Office of Administrative Hearings and Rules; S.G., on behalf of her minor child, S.G., Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

615 F.3d 622

TRAVERSE BAY AREA INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL DISTRICT; Traverse City Area Public Schools, Plaintiffs-Appellants,

v.MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION; Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth; Michigan State Office of Administrative Hearings and Rules; S.G., on behalf of her minor child, S.G., Defendants-Appellees.

No. 08-1228.

United States Court of Appeals,Sixth Circuit.

Argued: April 27, 2010.

Decided and Filed: Aug. 4, 2010.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED.

ARGUED: Jeffrey J. Butler, LaPointe & Butler, P.C., Okemos, Michigan, for Appellants. Timothy J. Haynes, Office of the Michigan Attorney General, Lansing, Michigan, for Appellees. ON BRIEF: Jeffrey J. Butler, LaPointe & Butler, P.C., Okemos, Michigan, for Appellants. Timothy J. Haynes, Office of the Michigan Attorney General, Lansing, Michigan, for Appellees.

Before: SUHRHEINRICH, McKEAGUE, and GRIFFIN, Circuit Judges.

OPINION

GRIFFIN, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiffs Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District and Traverse City Area Public Schools (collectively “School Districts”) appeal the district court's order dismissing their amended complaint against defendants Michigan Department of Education (“MDE”), Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth (“DLEG”), and Michigan State Office of Administrative Hearings and Rules (“SOAHR”) (collectively “State Defendants”), for their alleged failure to maintain procedural due process protections in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq. (“IDEA”). This appeal presents an issue of first impression in our circuit: whether plaintiffs, as local educational agencies, have statutory standing under 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(2)(A) to challenge a state agency's compliance with certain “procedural safeguards” set forth in 20 U.S.C. § 1415(b). For the reasons explained below, we hold that the IDEA does not provide School Districts with an express or implied right to compel State Defendants' compliance with § 1415(b)'s procedural safeguards, absent an underlying claim that directly involves a disabled child's individual educational program.

I.

A.

In exchange for federal funding, the IDEA requires states to identify, locate, and evaluate “[a]ll children with disabilities residing in the State ... who are in need of special education and related services....” 20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(3)(A). A recipient state is required to provide a free appropriate public education (“FAPE”) for any such disabled child. 20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(1)(A). The state's local educational agencies-typically, the local school district-must create an individual educational program (“IEP”) addressing each disabled child's special needs. 20 U.S.C. § 1414(b)-(d). In addition to these substantive obligations, all participating states and local educational agencies are required to “establish and maintain” certain “procedural safeguards” to ensure that all disabled children receive a FAPE. 20 U.S.C. § 1415(a); see Keene v. Zelman, 337 Fed.Appx. 553, 554 (6th Cir.2009) (unpublished) (discussing IDEA procedural due process protections).

The IDEA provides a hearing process through which parents who disagree with the appropriateness of their child's IEP may seek relief. Specifically, 20 U.S.C. § 1415(a) provides:

Establishment of procedures:

Any State educational agency, State agency, or local educational agency that receives assistance under this subchapter shall establish and maintain procedures in accordance with this section to ensure that children with disabilities and their parents are guaranteed procedural safeguards with respect to the provision of a free appropriate public education by such agencies.

Id.

Parents may challenge an IEP by filing a complaint against the local educational agency and demanding a due process hearing, at which time they are given an opportunity to voice their concerns to an independent hearing officer (“IHO”). 20 U.S.C. §§ 1415(b)(6) and (f)(1)-(3). At the conclusion of the hearing, the IHO must decide whether the IEP satisfies or impedes the child's right to a FAPE. 20 U.S.C. § 1415(f)(3)(E). Either party may appeal the IHO's decision to a state level review officer (“SLRO”). 20 U.S.C. § 1415(g)(1)-(2). Finally, any party aggrieved by the SLRO's decision may bring a civil action in state or federal court. 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(2)(A).

This litigation began when S.G., the parent of a minor child with autism, filed a complaint against School Districts asserting that the IEP did not fully address her child's special needs. See 20 U.S.C. § 1415(b)(6). Before the IHO conducted the due process hearing, however, School Districts and S.G. reached a settlement agreement. Nevertheless, a second dispute arose when School Districts opposed S.G.'s motion to incorporate the settlement agreement into the order dismissing S.G.'s complaint.

After considering the matter, the IHO denied S.G.'s motion to incorporate the settlement agreement. S.G. appealed the IHO's ruling to a SLRO pursuant to 20 U.S.C. § 1415(g). The SLRO agreed with S.G. and ordered the incorporation of the parties' settlement agreement into the order of dismissal. School Districts, aggrieved by this ruling, appealed the SLRO's administrative decision to the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan pursuant to 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(2)(A).

B.

On September 26, 2006, School Districts filed a four-count complaint against S.G. and State Defendants seeking declaratory, injunctive, monetary, and equitable relief. Counts I and II alleged breaches of contract against S.G., and Counts III and IV alleged, inter alia, that State Defendants unlawfully exercised jurisdiction over S.G.'s administrative appeal. Essentially, School Districts asserted that State Defendants had no authority to adjudicate S.G.'s appeal pursuant to § 1415(g) because all contested IEP issues were resolved. S.G. and State Defendants moved to dismiss School Districts' complaint.

While the motions to dismiss were pending, the district court permitted School Districts to file an amended complaint. The proposed amended complaint contained the original Counts I-III, as well as a modified Count IV and a new Count V, which, like Count IV of the original complaint, alleged that State Defendants violated the IDEA when they exercised jurisdiction over S.G.'s administrative appeal. Importantly, Count V also asserted that State Defendants were in violation of § 1415(b) because they were neglecting their “ongoing obligation” to “monitor and enforce the [IDEA's] procedural safeguards” and their duty to supervise “SOAHR's implementation of the due process hearing system in Michigan.”

On July 27, 2007, the district court granted State Defendants' motion to dismiss in toto and S.G.'s motion to dismiss in part, permitting only Count IV to “proceed ... against Defendant S.G. [ ] as an action pursuant to 20 U.S.C. § 1415 for review of [the IHO's] decision.” School Districts appealed the district court's July 27, 2007, order in February 2008. Based upon a joint motion filed by S.G. and School Districts, we remanded that portion of School Districts' appeal that challenged the dismissal of Counts I and II of the amended complaint and certain orders regarding attorneys' fees.

In May 2009, the district court accepted S.G.'s and School Districts' stipulation to dismiss all pending claims between them with prejudice. Thus, the operative notice of appeal concerns only the district court's July 27, 2007, order granting State Defendants' motion to dismiss Counts III-V of the amended complaint. School Districts timely appeal that order.

II.

As a preliminary matter, although School Districts present three questions for our review, we may resolve their appeal by answering one question: whether plaintiffs, as local educational agencies, possess a private right pursuant to 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(2)(A) to challenge a state agency's compliance with certain “procedural safeguards” set forth in § 1415(b) of the IDEA? ¹ We hold that they do not.

We review de novo the district court's grant of State Defendants' motion to dismiss for lack of statutory standing under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). See Bridges v. Am. Elec. Power Co., 498 F.3d 442, 444-45 and n. 1 (6th Cir.2007); cf. Franklin County v. Travelers Prop. Cas. Ins. Co. of Am., 368 Fed.Appx. 669, 670-71 (6th Cir.2010); Harzewski v. Guidant Corp., 489 F.3d 799, 803 (7th Cir.2007) (“But there is also a nonconstitutional doctrine of standing to sue, one aspect of which is the requirement that the plaintiff be within the “zone of interests” of the statute or other source of rights under which he is suing.”) (citing Air Courier Conference of Am. v. Am. Postal Workers Union, 498 U.S. 517, 523-26, 111 S.Ct. 913, 112 L.Ed.2d 1125 (1991)). It is well-established that State Defendants bear the burden of proving that School Districts' claim failed as a matter of law. First Am. Title Co. v. Devaugh, 480 F.3d 438, 443-44 (6th Cir.2007). To survive a motion to dismiss, School Districts must allege “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007); Bennett v. MIS Corp., 607 F.3d 1076, 1091 (6th Cir.2010).

As the Supreme Court explained in Alexander v. Sandoval, 532 U.S. 275, 121 S.Ct. 1511, 149 L.Ed.2d 517 (2001):

[P]rivate rights of action to enforce federal law must be created by Congress. The judicial task is to interpret the statute Congress has passed to determine whether it displays an intent to create not just a private right but also a private remedy. Statutory intent on this latter point is determinative. Without it, a cause of action does not exist and courts may not create one, no matter how desirable that might be as a policy matter, or how compatible with the statute. Raising up causes of action where a statute has not created them may be a proper function for common-law courts, but not for federal tribunals.

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