Washington v. Ladue School Dist. Bd. of Educ.

• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Missouri
• Writing for the Court: Henry Edward Autrey
• Citation: Washington v. Ladue School Dist. Bd. of Educ., 564 F.Supp.2d 1059 (E.D. Mo. 2008)
• Decision Date: 30 April 2008
• Docket Number: No. 4:08CV21 HEA.,4:08CV21 HEA.
• Parties: Leondre WASHINGTON, Plaintiff, v. LADUE SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF EDUCATION, Defendant.

564 F.Supp.2d 1059

Leondre WASHINGTON, Plaintiff, v. LADUE SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF EDUCATION, Defendant.

No. 4:08CV21 HEA.

United States District Court, E.D. Missouri, Eastern Division.

April 30, 2008.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Rufus J. Tate, Jr., Tate Law Firm, L.L.C., St. Louis, MO, for Plaintiff.

John Gianoulakis, Robert A. Useted, Thomas A. Durphy, Kohn and Shands, St. Louis, MO, for Defendant.

OPINION, MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

HENRY EDWARD AUTREY, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on Defendant School District for the City of Ladue's Motion to Dismiss, [Doc. No. 15], and Defendants David Benson, Beth Hufford, Ken Smith, Audrey Mack, Karen Webster, Lynn Dean, Sheri Glantz, Donna Smith, Susan Dielmann, and Jeff Cross' Motion to Dismiss, [Doc. No. 25]. Plaintiff opposes the Motions. For the reasons set forth below, the Motions are granted.

Facts and Background¹

Plaintiff² brings this action based on alleged violations of his civil rights pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1988, the First, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. The action also is brought pursuant to §§ 527.020 (Declaratory Judgment Act), Mo.R.Civ.P. 100, the Missouri Administrative Procedures Act, Chapter 536 RSMo., in accordance with the Court's supplemental jurisdiction. 28 U.S.C. § 1367. The Second Amended Complaint alleges that Plaintiff was, at all pertinent times, a resident of the City of Olivette, Missouri, who had been enrolled in and attending classes as a student within the Ladue School District.

Plaintiff alleges that he had a constitutionally protected property right to a free public education in the Ladue School District pursuant to MO CONST. Art. IX, § 1(a) and §§ 160.051 RSMo., because he was a Missouri resident less than 21 years of age. The Second Amended Complaint further alleges that Plaintiff duly registered, pursuant to § 167.020.2 RSMo., as a pupil in the Ladue School District prior to November 16, 2007. Plaintiff was attending classes within the Ladue School District on January 4, 2008, when he was removed from the classroom and the Ladue School District student registration roll. Plaintiff was advised that he could not return to the Ladue School District.³

In October, 2007, mail addressed to Plaintiff at the address Plaintiff initially provided the Ladue School District, was returned to the Ladue School District. It indicated that Plaintiff's apartment Was vacant. Dr. David Benson, Ladue's Superintendent, sent a letter to Plaintiff's mother dated November 19, 2007, in which Dr. Benson advised Ms. Brown of the results of the residency investigation, and that it had been determined that Plaintiff was no longer eligible to attend Ladue School.

Following an exchange of telephone calls and correspondence between counsel for Plaintiff and the Ladue School district, Plaintiff was notified that he would not be allowed to attend the Ladue school. Plaintiff was also advised that he could appeal the Superintendent's decision by December 7, 2007 to the Ladue School Board, and have a hearing. Plaintiff did not appeal the decision, nor did he attend the offered hearing.

Plaintiff contends that through these actions, Defendants deprived him of his constitutionally protected rights in violation of § 1983, and specifically, Defendants' actions constituted an unlawful taking of his property without due process of law and without just compensation. Plaintiff further alleges that Defendants breached their duty to provide Plaintiff with a free public education.

Plaintiff seeks an Order restraining or enjoining Defendants from further interrupting or interfering with Plaintiff's right to attend classes and participate in activities in the Ladue School District; an Order declaring that Defendants have violated Plaintiff's civil rights protected by Amendments I, V and XIV of the U.S. Constitution and the Missouri Constitution art. I §§ 2 and 10 and art. V, § 18, §,536.150 RSMo. without due process of law; an Order restraining or enjoining Defendants from changing or altering the conditions of Plaintiff's student participation in any academic or other settings than was the case prior to Plaintiff's removal from the Ladue School District on January 4, 2008; an Order declaring that any injunctive Order becomes effective without requiring Plaintiff to post a bond; an Order requiring the Ladue School District, upon request of Plaintiff, to provide free services of one or more duly qualified, necessary and appropriate tutors to assist Plaintiff in eliminating whatever learning and achievement gap may have been caused by Defendants' breach; Orders declaring Defendants liable to Plaintiff for compensatory and exculpatory or punitive damages; and Orders declaring Defendants liable to Plaintiff for interim and final awards of attorney's fees and costs pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988.

Defendants move for dismissal⁴ because Plaintiff has failed to exhaust his administrative remedies.⁵

Discussion

Plaintiff contends that the actions taken by Defendants in removing him from the rolls of the student body at the Ladue School District violate his First⁶, Fifth⁷ and Fourteenth⁸ Amendment rights, and his rights under the Missouri Constitution Article IX, § 1(a)⁹ in that Defendants exercised a taking of his property right to a free public education without due process of law.¹⁰ Defendants argue that because Plaintiff failed to take advantage of the offered hearing, Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint must be dismissed for failure to exhaust his administrative remedies.

A student's property interest in the right to a public education, which cannot be taken away without affording the minimum procedures required by the due process clause, is clearly established. The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that certain substantive rights—life, liberty, and property—cannot be deprived except pursuant to constitutionally adequate procedures. Cleveland Bd. of Educ. v. Loudermill, 470 U.S. 532, 541, 105 S.Ct. 1487, 84 L.Ed.2d 494 (1985). An essential principle of due process is that a deprivation of life, liberty, or property must be preceded by notice and an opportunity for a hearing appropriate to the nature of the case. Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank & Trust, Co., 339 U.S. 306, 313, 70 S.Ct. 652, 94 L.Ed. 865 (1950). The Constitution of the State of Missouri establishes a right to a public education. Mo. Const. art. IX. The United States Supreme Court has characterized such a right as a property interest. See Goss v. Lopez, 419 U.S. 565, 575, 95 S.Ct. 729, 42 L.Ed.2d 725 (1975) ("Among other things, the State is constrained to recognize a student's legitimate entitlement to a public education as a property interest which is protected by the Due Process Clause and which may not be taken away for misconduct without adherence to the minimum procedures required by that Clause."). Certain minimum due process procedures must, be met before there can be a significant deprivation of any property right, including the right to a public education.

In so doing, the Court is mindful that "[d]ue process is a flexible concept, requiring only `such procedural protections as the particular situation demands.' Mathews v. Eldridge, 424 U.S. 319, 334, 96 S.Ct. 893, 47 L.Ed.2d 18 (1976) (quoting Morrissey v. Brewer, 408 U.S. 471, 481, 92 S.Ct. 2593, 33 L.Ed.2d 484 (1972)). The fundamental requirement of due process `is the opportunity to be heard "at a meaningful time and in a meaningful manner."' Id. at 333, 96 S.Ct. 893, 424 U.S. 319, 96 S.Ct. 893, 47 L.Ed.2d 18 (quoting Armstrong v. Manzo, 380 U.S. 545, 552, 85 S.Ct. 1187, 14 L.Ed.2d 62 (1965))." Clark v. Kansas City Missouri School Dist., 375 F.3d 698, 701-702 (8th Cir.2004).

None of the parties dispute that Plaintiff has such a property interest in a free public education, rather, they disagree as to the manner in which Plaintiff must vindicate the alleged "taking" of that right. In his constitutional challenge, Plaintiff claims a taking without due process. The issue simply put, therefore, is: what process is due. Morrissey v. Brewer, 408 U.S. 471, 481, 92 S.Ct. 2593, 2600, 33 L.Ed.2d 484 (1972).

Defendants¹¹ contend that since Plaintiff did not take advantage of the offered hearing, Plaintiff's claims must be dismissed. Plaintiff appears to agree that in a contested case under the Missouri Administrative Procedures Act, he must exhaust his administrative remedies. Plaintiff argues, however, that exhaustion is not required; Plaintiff urges that this is not a "contested case," because Defendants did not cite any "applicable statute or regulation" requiring an administrative hearing on the residency issue. The irony of Plaintiff's argument and indeed, the fundamental flaw in Plaintiff's reasoning, is evidenced by the Second Amended Complaint itself. Plaintiff alleges that he was denied a constitutionally protected property right, i.e., his right to a free public education, without due process. The very basis upon which Plaintiff brings his action is the basis upon which Plaintiff's challenges give rise to a "contested" case in the state system and a federal constitutional cause of action. Plaintiff seeks redress for this alleged constitutional taking without due process. Plaintiff, however, attempts to limit his focus to a specific "regulation or ordinance" in an effort to circumvent the glaring beacon of constitutional law which requires a hearing, (and which also sets forth a contested case), both of which require exhaustion at the state level prior to challenge in this Court.

The Due Process Clause also encompasses a third type of protection, a guarantee of fair procedure. A § 1983 action may be brought for a violation of procedural due process, but here the existence of state remedies is relevant in a special sense. In procedural due process claims, the deprivation by state action of a constitutionally protected...