JACKIE S. v. Connelly

442 F. Supp. 2d 503, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49599, 2006 WL 2033700
District Court, S.D. Ohio·Decided July 20, 2006·No. 2:05-CV-00755·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

OPINION & ORDER

ALGENON L. MARBLEY, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This matter comes before the Court upon the following motions by Defendant, John M. Connelly (“Defendant”), in his capacity as Executive Director of the Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission: (1) Defendant’s Second Motion to Dismiss 1 Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint (“the Amended Complaint”); (2) Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Intervenors’ Complaint. Defendant asserts that the Court must dismiss Plaintiffs’ Complaint and the In-tervenors’ Complaint both for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and for failure to state a claim on which relief can be granted pursuant to Rules 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, respectively. For the reasons set forth herein, the Court GRANTS Defendant’s various Motions to Dismiss for failure to state a claim on which relief can be granted.

II. STATEMENT OF FACTS

A. Background

The purpose of Title I of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, 29 U.S.C. §§ 701-753 (hereinafter “Rehabilitation Act” or “the Act”) 2 , is to empower individuals with disabilities to maximize employment, economic self-sufficiency, independence, inclusion, and integration into society. See 29 U.S.C. § 701. Specifically, Title I of the Act is intended to assist States in operating a comprehensive, coordinated, effective, efficient, and accountable program of vocational rehabilitation that is designed to assess, plan, develop, and provide vocational rehabilitation services for individuals with disabilities consistent with their strengths, resources, priorities, concerns, abilities, capabilities, interests, and informed choice, so that such individuals may prepare for and engage in gainful employment. See id. § 720(a)(2). To that end, Congress created an interactive federal-state scheme whereby a state may receive federal funding for its vocational rehabilitation programs if it submits to its Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration a three-year plan which meets certain federal guidelines. Id. § 721(a).

State participation in the program is voluntary, but if a state chooses to participate it must comply with federal guidelines and regulations implementing the Act. See id. § 721. Ohio participates in the program, and the Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission (“ORSC”) is the state unit in Ohio designated to provide vocational rehabilitation services to people with disabilities pursuant to Sections 720-753 of Title I of the Rehabilitation Act. See Ohio Rev. Code § 3304(D). The Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation (“BVR” or “the Bureau”) is the division of ORSC that provides reha *508 bilitation services to individuals with disabilities other than blindness or other visual impairments.

Title I of the Rehabilitation Act has thirty-six explicit requirements for state plans, one of which is an individualized plan of employment (“IPE”). See 29 U.S.C. § 721(a)(9). Under the terms of the Act, an eligible individual and his vocational rehabilitation counselor must jointly develop and agree to an IPE. Id. § 722(b)(1)(A). Each IPE must be designed to achieve that individual’s employment objective, long-term rehabilitation goals, and intermediate rehabilitation objectives, “consistent with the unique strengths, resources, priorities, concerns, abilities, and capabilities of the individual.” Id. § 722(b) (1) (B) (I). If a dispute arises between an individual and his counselor, the individual may exercise his right to an administrative appeal to a BVR supervisor, an impartial hearing officer, and BVR’s administrator. Id. §§ 722(b)(2)(E), (c)(5).

In May of 2005, ORSC promulgated an administrative rule, O.A.C. § 3304-2-58(H) to limit the amount of financial assistance that it will provide to eligible individuals seeking a post-secondary education. As amended, O.A.C. § 3304-2-58(H) reads:

(1) The consumer shall apply for financial aid by completing and submitting the free application for federal student aid (FAFSA), when the school participates in federal student aid programs.
(2) The consumer shall submit a copy of his/her student aid report (SAR) to his/ her counselor for each academic year for which RSC is authorizing post-secondary educational training. The EFC [(which stands for Expected Family Contribution)] listed on the SAR shall be used in calculating the consumer’s financial need.
(3) The consumer shall be required to contribute fifty per cent of the EFC for the 2005/2006 academic year, and seventy-five per cent of the EFC for the 2006/2007 academic year, and one-hundred percent of the EFC for each succeeding academic year.
(4) Consumers who receive supplemental security income (SSI) or social security disability insurance (SSDI), or those who are excluded pursuant to section 4121.66 3 of the Ohio Revised Code, are provided post-secondary educational training services without applying the financial needs test specified in paragraph (H)(3) of this rule.
(5) The RSC contribution to post-secondary educational expenses shall be computed by subtracting the following from the cost of post-secondary educational expenses: the combined total of all grant monies, comparable benefits, and the percentage of the EFC to be paid by the consumer, as described in paragraph (H)(3) of this rule. All awards and scholarships awarded to the consumer shall be applied to the EFC.

See O.A.C. § 3304-2-58(H) (2006).

At the same time, ORSC also amended O.A.C. § 3304-2-58(1) to limit the time permitted for an individual receiving aid pursuant to the Rehabilitation Act to complete each academic year of post-secondary education to a maximum of eighteen consecutive months. As amended, O.A.C. § 3304-2-58(1) reads:

(I) to continue to receiving RSC sponsorship, a consumer shall demonstrate *509 satisfactory progress in accordance with paragraph (B) of this rule and shall have a maximum of eighteen consecutive months to complete each academic year of post-secondary educational training as defined by the degree program. The appropriate area manager and/or designated assistant area manager shall request, with justification, approval from the bureau director and/or his/her desig-nee to extend the time limit.

See O.A.C. § 3304-2-58(1) (2006). Together, O.A.C.

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JACKIE S. v. Connelly, 442 F. Supp. 2d 503, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49599, 2006 WL 2033700 (S.D. Ohio 2006).

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