Hinson Ex Rel. N.H. v. Merritt Educational Center

521 F. Supp. 2d 22, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83602, 2007 WL 3341843
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedNovember 13, 2007
DocketCivil Action 07-934(CKK)
StatusPublished
Cited by77 cases

This text of 521 F. Supp. 2d 22 (Hinson Ex Rel. N.H. v. Merritt Educational Center) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hinson Ex Rel. N.H. v. Merritt Educational Center, 521 F. Supp. 2d 22, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83602, 2007 WL 3341843 (D.D.C. 2007).

Opinion

*25 MEMORANDUM OPINION

COLLEEN KOLLAR-KOTELLY, District Judge.

Plaintiff Darlene Hinson brings this action behalf of her minor son, N.H., pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, (“IDEA”), 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et. seq., as well as 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1985, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. § 12131 et seq., 1 Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794 et seq., and the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Compl. ¶ 1. Plaintiffs name as Defendants to this action the District of Columbia, Merritt Educational Center, a public school in the District of Columbia, and District of Columbia Mayor Adrian Fenty (collectively “Defendants”). Defendants have moved for partial dismissal of Plaintiffs’ Complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), arguing that Plaintiffs fail to state a claim under section 1983, section 1985, the Rehabilitation Act, the ADA, or the Fifth Amendment, and similarly fail to state a claim against any Defendant other than the District of Columbia. Upon a searching review of the Complaint, the filings in connection with Defendants’ Motion for Partial Dismissal, and the relevant statutes and caselaw, the Court shall grant Defendants’ Motion for Partial Dismissal. As a result, the Court shall dismiss Mayor Fenty and Merritt Educational Center as Defendants in this action, and shall dismiss Plaintiffs’ claims pursuant to Section 1983, Section 1985, the Rehabilitation Act, the ADA, and the Fifth Amendment.

I: BACKGROUND

The IDEA provides that all children with disabilities will be provided a free and appropriate public education (“FAPE”), and provides for procedural safeguards to ensure that disabled children receive individualized education programs (“IEP”) to fulfill the Act’s goals. The Complaint in this action asserts that “N.H. is a twelve-year-old boy, special education with the classification of multiple disabilities in the area of other health impaired and emotional disturbed.” Compl. ¶7. 2 N.H. is enrolled at Merritt Educational Center, a public school in the District of Columbia. Id. ¶¶ 4, 8. Plaintiffs allege that N.H. has not received FAPE since the 2005-2006 school year. According to Plaintiffs, in November 2003, the parties reached a settlement wherein District of Columbia Public Schools (“DCPS”) agreed to comprehensively reevaluate N.H., to develop an IEP for N.H., to issue a notice of placement, and to provide compensatory services for the period of time in which N.H. was not provided FAPE. Id. ¶ 10. Plaintiffs further allege that DCPS did not complete the evaluation as required, and that as a result, Plaintiff Hinson obtained an independent evaluation of N.H., submitted the independent evaluation to DCPS, and requested that DCPS convene a multidisciplinary team meeting. Id. ¶¶ 11-12. Plaintiffs appear to allege that “DCPS took 14 months from the settlement and 6 months from the date parent submitted evaluation before,” developing an IEP for *26 N.H. Id. ¶ 13. 3 According to Plaintiffs, during that time, N.H. suffered several academic and behavioral difficulties and was hospitalized at a mental hospital. Id. ¶¶ 14-15. Plaintiffs further allege that while waiting for DCPS to develop an IEP, N.H. was “suspended several times or sent home without proper interventions.” Id. ¶ 16.

DCPS developed an IEP for N.H. on February 20, 2007, which Plaintiffs assert “was not tailored to meet NH’s educational and related service needs,” such that N.H. still does not have an appropriate IEP or placement. Id. ¶¶ 17-18. Plaintiffs allege that they filed a due process hearing request and were granted a due process hearing, but that the hearing officer denied the relief they sought. Id. ¶23. They therefore appeal the hearing officer’s decision of April 25, 2007. Id. ¶ 24. Plaintiffs’ Complaint includes three Counts, each of which asks the Court to determine that Defendants have denied N.H. FAPE in a particular way. Specifically, Count I alleges that DCPS has failed to perform required evaluations and particularly failed to honor the terms of the 2003 settlement agreement, id. ¶¶ 25-30; Count II alleges that DCPS failed to develop an appropriate IEP for N.H. for the 2005-06 and 2006-07 school years and that his current IEP is not tailored to his needs, id. ¶¶ 31-34; and Count III alleges that DCPS failed to issue a notice of placement to an appropriate setting for the 2005-06 and 2006-07 school years, id. ¶¶ 35-38.

Based on these allegations, Plaintiffs ask the Court to require DCPS to revise N.H.’s IEP, id. ¶ 20; to “provide appropriate educational and related services to enable NH to become a productive member of the society,” id. ¶ 21; to “issue a notice to an appropriate setting where NH’[s] multiple disability would be addressed,” id. ¶ 22; to fund N.H.’s placement at Sunrise Academy or Cross Creek school, and to provide compensatory education services for the period of time in which N.H. was denied FAPE, id. at 4 (Wherefore clause). Defendants moved for partial dismissal of Plaintiffs’ Complaint on June 14, 2007, Plaintiffs filed their Opposition on July 3, 2007, and Defendants filed their Reply on July 12, 2007. 4

II: LEGAL STANDARD

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure require that a complaint contain “ ‘a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief,’ in order to ‘give the defendant fair notice of what the ... claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.’ ” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S.-, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 1964, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) (quoting Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 47, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957)); 5 accord *27 Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. -, 127 S.Ct. 2197, 2200, 167 L.Ed.2d 1081 (2007) (per curiam); see also Fed R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2).

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Bluebook (online)
521 F. Supp. 2d 22, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83602, 2007 WL 3341843, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hinson-ex-rel-nh-v-merritt-educational-center-dcd-2007.