Doe v. Fairfax Cnty. Sch. Bd.

384 F. Supp. 3d 598
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Virginia
DecidedMay 29, 2019
Docket1:18-cv-846 (LMB/TCB)
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 384 F. Supp. 3d 598 (Doe v. Fairfax Cnty. Sch. Bd.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Doe v. Fairfax Cnty. Sch. Bd., 384 F. Supp. 3d 598 (E.D. Va. 2019).

Opinion

Leonie M. Brinkema, United States District Judge

Before the Court is defendant Fairfax County School Board's Motion for Summary Judgment [Dkt. No. 100], which has been fully briefed and argued. For the reasons stated in this Memorandum Opinion, the Motion will be granted.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff John Doe 2 (the "Student"), a 16-year-old student, and John Doe 1, the Student's father and next friend (collectively, "plaintiffs"), have filed a five-count Complaint against the Fairfax County School Board (the "School Board" or "defendant"),1 alleging violations of Title IX under 20 U.S.C. § 1681 (Count I), the First and Fourteen Amendments pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Counts II and III, respectively), and the Due Process and Free Speech Clauses of the Virginia Constitution (Counts IV and V, respectively). Compl. [Dkt. No. 1]. For relief, plaintiffs seek an injunction restraining defendant from continuing to enforce any punishment against the Student and including any of the hearing officers' findings and sanctions on the Student's academic record, as well as damages, attorneys' fees, and costs. Id. at 12-13.

This lawsuit arises out of allegations made by three of the Student's female classmates at Lake Braddock Secondary School ("Lake Braddock") concerning the Student's inappropriate touching and comments. Specifically, the girls alleged that on February 6, 2018, the Student touched the butt and crotch of Student A while they were in the library;2 that he touched Student B on her breast, hip, and butt while in Spanish class and commented on Student B's fake fingernails by saying "you'd cut yourself if you fingered yourself with those nails"; and that at crew practice he touched his genitals through his spandex and asked Student C "how a girl doesn't orgasm when she puts a tampon in." Id. ¶ 10.

*604The three female students approached a vice principal to report the Student on February 12, 2018. Id. ¶ 9. Three days later, the Student was removed from class and he, along with his parents, met with school administrators to discuss the allegations. In that meeting, he explained that he had touched Student A accidentally,3 denied touching Student B, and admitted to making both the fingernail and tampon statements but stated that the tampon statement was a joke and was made to two other female friends, not to Student C. Id. ¶¶ 11-15; Def.'s Brief in Supp. of Mot. for Summ. J. [Dkt. No. 101] ("MSJ") ¶ 35, at 7. The Student was subsequently suspended for ten days. Compl. ¶ 16. The Student and his parents appealed the suspension on February 21, 2018. MSJ ¶ 40, at 7.

A hearing was held on March 9, 2018. Compl. ¶ 17. Plaintiffs, along with counsel, were present at the hearing conducted by hearing officers Nancy Kreloff and J.D. Anderson. Id. Assistant Principal Eileen Hoppock and Associate Principal Laura Waterman presented the allegations. Id. ¶ 18. In the Student's defense, plaintiffs provided a psychosexual risk assessment, two polygraph reports, and character reference letters. Id. ¶ 25.

On March 23, 2018, Kreloff issued a decision finding that the Student had "committed serious repeated offenses in violation of School Board policy by engaging in improper and offensive touching of female students and sexual harassment of female students." Id. ¶ 29. As a sanction, the Student was removed from Lake Braddock and reassigned to an "alternate educational setting within [the Fairfax County Public School] system." Id. ¶ 32. The Student successfully completed the 2017-2018 school year at Bryant Alternative Learning Center and was reassigned to South County High School for the 2018-2019 school year. MSJ ¶ 65, at 10.4

Plaintiffs appealed the hearing officers' decision to the School Board on March 29, 2018, which denied the appeal on April 12, 2018. Compl. ¶ 33; MSJ ¶ 66, at 10. On May 11, 2018, plaintiffs petitioned the Circuit Court of Fairfax County to review the School Board's decision. MSJ ¶ 73, at 11. Under Virginia law, a circuit court must sustain the School Board's action "unless the school board exceeded its authority, acted arbitrarily or capriciously, or abused its discretion." Id. ¶ 74 (citing Va. Code. Ann. § 22.1-87 ). At a hearing on December 14, 2018, the circuit court denied the Petition for Review, ruling that plaintiffs "failed to show that the School Board exceeded its authority, acted arbitrarily or capriciously, abused its discretion or violated any of John Doe 2's due process rights." Id. ¶¶ 75-76 (citing Dkt. No. 62-1). Although plaintiffs initially appealed the decision, they have abandoned that appeal. May 10 Hr'g Tr. [Dkt. No. 132] 8:20-24.

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384 F. Supp. 3d 598, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/doe-v-fairfax-cnty-sch-bd-vaed-2019.