DOE v. Township High School District No. 214

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedAugust 21, 2024
Docket1:19-cv-03052
StatusUnknown

This text of DOE v. Township High School District No. 214 (DOE v. Township High School District No. 214) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
DOE v. Township High School District No. 214, (N.D. Ill. 2024).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION

Shaun Dolan, ) ) Plaintiff, ) No. 1:19-CV-03052 ) v. ) ) Judge Edmond E. Chang Township High School District No. 214, ) ) Defendant. )

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

Shaun Dolan, when he was a high school student back in 2016, was questioned and disciplined by school administrators on different occasions. Dolan brought this lawsuit against the school district, alleging that the district discriminated against him based on his disability, in violation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. R. 1, Compl.; R. 100, Am. Compl.1 Dolan also brought a claim under Illinois law for intentional infliction of emotional distress.2 The school district now moves for summary judgment on all claims. R. 107, Def.’s Mot. For the reasons explained below, summary judgment on the federal ADA and Rehabilitation Act claims is granted, and the Court relinquishes jurisdiction over the remaining state law claim.

1Citations to the record are “R.” followed by the docket entry number and, if needed, a page or paragraph number.

2Because this action was brought under the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act, this Court has subject matter jurisdiction over the case under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 and supplemental jurisdiction over the state law claim under 28 U.S.C. § 1367. I. Background In 2016, Dolan was a freshman at Buffalo Grove High School, which is a part of Township High School District 214 (for convenience’s sake, the District). Dolan—

who has autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, social anxiety, and learning disabilities—had an Individualized Education Program (commonly known as an IEP) in place while attending the school. R. 114, Pl.’s Resp. DSOF ¶¶ 1–2; R. 108-6, Exh. G (Kolodziej Dep.) at 49:22–50:1. For the couple of years that Dolan attended Buffalo Grove High School, he was called into the dean’s office and questioned on several occasions. In September 2016, there was a rumor going around the school that someone was going to commit a shoot-

ing at the Homecoming bonfire or pep rally. Pl.’s Resp. DSOF ¶ 4. The rumor was reported to the dean’s office, and a student identified Dolan as the possible subject (that is, the supposed shooter) of that rumor. R. 108-2, Schrammel Dep. Tr. at 90:24– 93:1, 94:15–95:21; R. 108-8, Exh. H; R. 108-10, Exh. J;3 see Pl.’s Resp. DSOF ¶ 4. One of the deans, Dean Kevin Schrammel, had a security officer4 pull Dolan out of gym

3In Dolan’s response to the District’s Statement of Facts, Dolan objects to DSOF Ex- hibit H (Dean Kevin Schrammel’s notes), Exhibit I (school behavior reports), and Exhibit J (police report about the September 2016 incident) as inadmissible hearsay to the extent that they are offered for the truth that Dolan made certain inciting statements. E.g., Pl.’s Resp. DSOF ¶¶ 45, 49, 50, 55. But these exhibits are not relied on for the truth that Dolan in fact made the inciting statements. Rather, the exhibits support that the school received student reports about Dolan, so the statements are offered for their impact on the listener—not for their substantive truth. Dolan does not dispute—and has presented no evidence to the con- trary—that the students indeed made these reports about Dolan.

4These officers, called “student resource officers,” were local police officers assigned to the school and had a variety of functions, including serving as a liaison between the school 2 class and bring Dolan to Schrammel’s office. Pl.’s Resp. DSOF ¶ 6. Schrammel and the officer questioned Dolan, and Schrammel also looked through Dolan’s backpack and school lockers to search for any weapons. Schrammel Dep. at 103:4–18, 106:11-

109:10. No weapons were found, and Schrammel concluded that the rumor was not credible and that Dolan posed no threat. Schrammel determined that no further in- quiry or discipline was necessary. Pl.’s Resp. DSOF ¶ 11; R. 108-10, Exh. J; see Schrammel Dep. at 110:21–113:19. Schrammel then notified Dolan’s mother that Do- lan had been questioned about the rumor, and Schrammel also followed up with the reporting students to let them know that the rumor was unsubstantiated. Schrammel Dep. at 111:22–113:19; see Pl.’s Resp. DSOF ¶¶ 12, 14.

Later that year, in November 2016, Dolan was involved in a physical alterca- tion with other students. Pl.’s Resp. DSOF ¶¶ 15–16. During this incident, Dolan picked up a female student and attempted to put her into a garbage can. See id.; R. 108-1, Shaun Dolan Dep. at 56:12–57:4; see also R. 108-9, Behavior Report at 6. Schrammel spoke with Dolan about the incident and gave him a lunch detention. Behavioral Report at 6; see Pl.’s Resp. DSOF ¶¶ 18–19. A month later, in December

2016, Dolan was involved in another altercation with a different classmate, during which Dolan placed his hand on her neck. Pl.’s Resp. DSOF ¶¶ 21–23; R. 108-1, Shaun Dolan Dep. at 57:24–60:7. Dolan received a half-day of in-school suspension and one day of out-of-school suspension for this incident. See Pl.’s Resp. DSOF ¶ 26.

and the police department and doing trainings with students. R. 114-1, Wardle Dep. at 29:23– 32:21. 3 Then, in May 2017, Dolan played a prank on a substitute teacher by pretending to be a teacher’s assistant during two classes. Pl.’s Resp. DSOF ¶ 28. Dolan changed into different clothes to impersonate a teacher, introduced himself as a teacher’s as-

sistant to the substitute teacher, and gave out assignments to students. R. 108-1, Shaun Dolan Dep. at 61:21–75:13. The prank was reported to another dean at the school, Dean Kolodziej, and Dolan was brought to the dean’s office and questioned about the prank. R. 108-6, Kolodziej Dep. at 104:16–24; 112:16–115:20. During this meeting, Dolan became upset and requested that he be able to go to his locker to get his sweatshirt. Pl.’s Resp. DSOF ¶ 34; Shaun Dolan Dep. at 82:14–23. Kolodziej de- nied Dolan’s request but sent a security officer to bring Dolan’s belongings from his

locker. Pl.’s Resp. DSOF ¶¶ 34–35; Shaun Dolan Dep. at 82:14–83:10. Kolodziej searched Dolan’s belongings and found a notebook containing a list of students’ names and other information like students’ arrival times to school.5 Pl.’s Resp. DSOF ¶ 35; Shaun Dolan Dep. at 85:8–86:21, 94:23–95:3; Kolodziej Dep. at 118:4–120:13. The school called Dolan’s mother and requested that she take Dolan for a health-and- safety evaluation, which she did. Pl.’s Resp. DSOF ¶ 37. The school did not take any

disciplinary action against Dolan for this incident. Pl.’s Resp. DSOF ¶ 38. Finally, in around February and March of 2018, on multiple occasions, several students reported to the dean’s office that Dolan had made statements relating to guns or violence. R. 108-8, Exh. H; Schrammel Dep. at 195:19–196:22; see R. 114, Pl.’s

5According to Dolan, he journaled patterns and lists in his notebook as a way of coping with his anxiety. Pl.’s Resp. DSOF ¶ 35. 4 Resp. DSOF ¶¶ 45, 50, 56 (not disputing the fact that students made these reports). For instance, students reported that Dolan had made statements about the school shooting that had recently occurred in Parkland, Florida; about how he could make a

bomb out of a cell phone or materials in the classroom; and that his senior quote for the yearbook would be “It was all planned.” See R. 114, Pl.’s Resp. DSOF ¶¶ 45, 50, 56. After these reports, Dolan was called to the dean’s office and questioned by Schrammel. See Pl.’s Resp. DSOF ¶¶ 46, 57. On some of these occasions, Dolan re- ceived no disciplinary consequences, but on one occasion Dolan received three days of suspension. Id. ¶¶ 49, 55, 60.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.
477 U.S. 242 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Scott v. Harris
550 U.S. 372 (Supreme Court, 2007)
Carmichael v. Village of Palatine, Ill.
605 F.3d 451 (Seventh Circuit, 2010)
Omnicare, Inc. v. Unitedhealth Group, Inc.
629 F.3d 697 (Seventh Circuit, 2011)
RWJ Management Co. v. BP Products North America, Inc.
672 F.3d 476 (Seventh Circuit, 2012)
Puffer v. Allstate Insurance
675 F.3d 709 (Seventh Circuit, 2012)
CTL Ex Rel. Trebatoski v. Ashland School District
743 F.3d 524 (Seventh Circuit, 2014)
Steven Hill v. City of Chicago
817 F.3d 561 (Seventh Circuit, 2016)
A.H. ex rel. Holzmueller v. Illinois High School Ass'n
881 F.3d 587 (Seventh Circuit, 2018)
H.P. v. Naperville Cmty. Unit Sch. Dist.
910 F.3d 957 (Seventh Circuit, 2018)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
DOE v. Township High School District No. 214, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/doe-v-township-high-school-district-no-214-ilnd-2024.