I.E.C. ex rel. J.R. v. Minneapolis Public Schools, Special School District No. 1

34 F. Supp. 3d 1006, 2014 WL 3629830, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 99331
CourtDistrict Court, D. Minnesota
DecidedJuly 22, 2014
DocketCivil Nos. 12-2398 (MJD/LIB), 12-2997 (MJD/LIB)
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 34 F. Supp. 3d 1006 (I.E.C. ex rel. J.R. v. Minneapolis Public Schools, Special School District No. 1) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
I.E.C. ex rel. J.R. v. Minneapolis Public Schools, Special School District No. 1, 34 F. Supp. 3d 1006, 2014 WL 3629830, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 99331 (mnd 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF LAW & ORDER

MICHAEL J. DAVIS, Chief Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This matter is before the Court on Plaintiffs I.E.C. and J.R.’s Motion for Summary Judgment as to both 12-cv-2398 (“IEC I”)and 12-cv-2997 (“IEC II”) [IEC I, Docket No. 37]; Defendant Minneapolis Public Schools, Special School District No. l’s Motion for Judgment on the Administrative Record with respect to IEC I [IEC I, Docket No. 41]; and Defendant’s Motion for Judgment on the Administrative Record with respect to IEC II [IEC II, Docket No. 51], The Court heard oral argument on January 24, 2014. After oral argument, Plaintiff filed a Motion to File Additional Authority in Support of Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment [IEC I, Docket No. 56], which is also before the Court.

II. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

The facts presented below are based upon the Administrative Record and evi[1009]*1009dence submitted by Plaintiffs supporting their summary judgment motion.

1. Summary of Facts Regarding Student’s Time in the School District

Plaintiff I.E.C. (“Student”) was enrolled in and out of the Minneapolis Public School District (“School District”) several times. Student was enrolled in the School District during the following time periods:

• Fall 2009 to December 12, 2011;
• March 7, 2012 to May 25, 2012; and
• August 1, 2012 to August 29, 2012.

This matter involves issues regarding Plaintiff J.R.’s (“Parent”) interactions with the School District regarding Student: (1) when Parent received notice of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act’s (“IDEA”) procedural safeguards from the School District and (2) when Parent requested two due process hearings. Parent received a Notice of Procedural Safeguards from the School District sometime between March 26, 2012 and April 9, 2012 (during a time when Student was enrolled in the School District). Parent requested a due process hearing for Student on June 11, 2012 (during a time when Student was not enrolled in the School District). Finally, Parent requested a second due process hearing on August 21, 2009, when Student was enrolled in the School District, but eight days later, Parent removed Student from the School District.

2. Student and Parent’s Interaction with the School District

In the fall of 2009, Student attended school in the School District and started her seventh grade year at Lake Harriet Community Upper School. (IEC I, Docket No. 35, Administrative Record Certified Inventory (“Admin. Rec.”), Item 1, IEC I Order, at 2.) During the first half of her eighth grade year there, Student received all passing grades. (Admin. Rec., Item 29, District’s Exhibits,1 Ex. 8, at 2.) In January 2011, after the winter break of Student’s eighth grade year (2010-2011), Parent provided the School District with an evaluation report from Children’s Hospitals Minneapolis which showed that Dr. Anastasia Ristau had evaluated Student over the break and diagnosed her with ADHD (inattentive type) and dyscalculia. (Id. at 3; IEC I Order, at 3.) While Student did not meet the criteria for a learning disability, the school’s Section 504 team (which included Parent), determined that she was eligible for a Section 504 Individual Accommodation Plan, which was created by the School District and Parent on January 21, 2011. (IEC I Order, at 3; Admin. Rec., Item 17, Moore Aff., Ex. A; District’s Ex. 8.)

In light of Student’s difficulties in math class, however, Parent sent a letter to Amy Moore, the School District’s Assistant General Counsel and Section 504 Coordinator for Students. (See District’s Ex. 17, at 104). The letter, sent on March 25, 2011, stated:

Thank you so much for looping back. So, ultimately there are no services or resources available for [Student] to support her math LD [learning disability] through the school or district? That is such a disappointment, though it’s been nearly three months of waiting, so the news isn’t terribly surprising to me at this point.

(Id. at 100.) Because Lake Harriet Community Upper School did not have Title I support for math classes, the District pro[1010]*1010vided Student with private math tutoring. (Id. at 100-01; IEC I Order, at 3.)

Student entered the School District’s Washburn High School in the fall of 2011, and she earned a 3.0 GPA. (See District’s Ex. 9.) On December 12, 2011, however, Parent withdrew Student from the School District. (IEC I Order, at 8.) In doing so, Parent did not express dissatisfaction with Student’s education nor did she provide notice to .the School District. (District’s Ex. 22, at 1-2 (containing an email message to the School District expressing appreciation and inquiring as to whether Student would receive credit for the fall 2011 semester).)

On March 7, 2012, Parent enrolled Student in the Fairview Hospital Adolescent Day Program, which is a treatment program which includes intensive therapeutic services by mental health professionals that seek to stabilize a child’s mental health. (Minn.Stat. § 245.4871, subdiv. 10(4).) While Student participated in the treatment program from March 7, 2012 to May 2012, the School District was again responsible for Student’s education. (See id. § 125A.51(d).)

On March 26, 2012, Parent filed a formal complaint with the Minnesota Department of Education (“MDE”), alleging that the School District had failed to evaluate Student for special education services while she was in the School District and requesting private school tuition from the School District. (IEC I Order, at 4.) The MDE found that Student should be evaluated for special education services, but the MDE did not award the requested private school tuition. (District’s Ex. 26, at 4-6.)

On April 9, 2012, Parent sent a letter to Bernadeia Johnson, Superintendent of the School District, requesting private school payments from the School District. (District’s Ex. 7.) In this letter, Parent acknowledged that she had received the MDE’s Part B Notice of Procedural Safeguards (“Notice of Procedural Safeguards”), which provides parents with the details of their due process rights under IDEA. (Id. (“I filled [sic] a complaint with the Minnesota Department of Education on the 26th of March and received for the first time a Part B Notice of Procedural Safeguards.”).) The Notice of Procedural Safeguards specifically provides:

Both you and the district have a right to request an impartial due process hearing in writing within two years of the date you or the agency knew or should have known about the alleged action that forms the basis of the due process complaint. Minn.Stat. § 125A.091, Subd. 14(a) and 34 C.F.R. §§ 300.507 and 300.511(e).
Loss of Right to a Due Process Hearing

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34 F. Supp. 3d 1006, 2014 WL 3629830, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 99331, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/iec-ex-rel-jr-v-minneapolis-public-schools-special-school-district-mnd-2014.