J.C. ex rel. M.C. v. School Board of St. Johns County

210 F. Supp. 3d 1318, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 143067, 2016 WL 5868104
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedSeptember 28, 2016
DocketCase No. 3:14-cv-1225-J-39JBT
StatusPublished

This text of 210 F. Supp. 3d 1318 (J.C. ex rel. M.C. v. School Board of St. Johns County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
J.C. ex rel. M.C. v. School Board of St. Johns County, 210 F. Supp. 3d 1318, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 143067, 2016 WL 5868104 (M.D. Fla. 2016).

Opinion

ORDER

Brian J. Davis, United States District Judge

This is an action under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA” or the “Act”), 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq. It is before the Court on the Motion to Hear Additional Evidence (Doc. 51) filed by Plaintiff J.C., a minor, by and through his next friend, M.C.1 Defendant School Board of St. Johns County, Florida (“School Board”), responded to the motion, (see Doc. 60), and the matter is ripe for review.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act provides that children with disabilities must receive a free and appropriate public education in states that receive federal assistance. See 20 U.S.C. § 1412. To comply with the Act, states must first identify students in need of special education then develop for each student an “individualized education program” (''IEP''), which must meet IDEA requirements. 20 U.S.C. § 1414(d)(2)(A). If a parent seeks to challenge the student’s IEP or to argue that the student has been denied a free and appropriate public education, the Act entitles the parent to an administrative hearing. 20 U.S.C. § 1415(f)(1)(A); see J.P. v. Cherokee Cnty. Bd. of Educ., 218 Fed.Appx. 911, 913 (11th Cir. 2007) (describing that, “[t]he philosophy of the IDEA is that plaintiffs are required to utilize the elaborate administrative scheme established by the IDEA before resorting to the courts to challenge [1321]*1321the actions of the local school authorities.” (quotation marks and citation omitted)).

After the administrative law judge issues a decision, either party may appeal the decision to the United States District Court. 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(2)(A). In this appeal, the Eleventh Circuit has explained that, “the Act contemplates that the source of the evidence generally will be the administrative hearing record” and that “[t]he starting point for determining what additional evidence should be received ... is the record of the administrative proceeding.” Walker Cty. Sch. Dist. v. Bennett ex rel. Bennett, 203 F.3d 1293, 1298 (11th Cir. 2000) (quoting Town of Burlington v. Dept of Educ. for Com, of Mass., 736 F.2d 773, 790 (1st Cir. 1984)).

B. Procedural History

On February 8, 2013, J.C., a student born in 1999 and in the midst of his eighth grade academic year, was found eligible to receive special education services under the Other Health Impairment (“OHI”) category of the IDEA due to his Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (“ADHD”) diagnosis. (Doc. 15 at 3 ¶ 9, 12 ¶ 48, and 13 ¶ 52); see 20 U.S.C. § 1401 (3)(A)(i) (including “other health impairments” as one of the categories to define a “child with a disability” under the IDEA); see also 34 C.F.R. § 300.8(c)(9)(ii) (defining “other health impairment” as “having limited strength, vitality, or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment, that ... [adversely affects a child’s educational performance”). That same day, a team “consisting of [J.C.’s] mother, two general education teachers, a special education teacher, [a Local Education Agency] representative, an interpreter of instruction implications of evaluation, [J.C.’s] attorney, the school board’s [Exceptional Student Education] director, and the school principal” met and developed an IEP for J.C., as required by the IDEA. (Doc. 15-1 at 12-13 ¶ 21; see Doc. 15 at 12 ¶ 48); 20 U.S.C. § 1414(d).

On January 6, 2014, J.C.’s parent M.C. submitted a request for a due process hearing, alleging that the School Board violated the IDEA by not providing her son with a free and appropriate public education, amongst other alleged violations. (Doc. 15 at 13-14; see Doc. 15-1 at 2). Plaintiff sought tutoring as the form of compensatory education. (Doc. 15-1 at 2). After conducting a final hearing on May 12-14, 2014, the administrative law judge decided in favor of the School Board. See id. at 1, 22-23. In considering “whether a failure on the part of the school district concerning Petitioner’s education under his IEP warrants an award of compensatory education,” the judge explained that “Petitioner did not meet his burden of proof.” Id. at 22. He reasoned further that, “[t]he evidence shows that Petitioner was timely and appropriately evaluated, that a valid IEP was created to address his needs, and that the IEP was implemented by the school district” and did not constitute a basis for finding that the school district committed any of the alleged violations, Id. at 22-23. Specifically, the judge concluded that, “Petitioner’s difficulties in school were not proven to be a result of his ADHD diagnosis, or, ultimately, his OHI designation of eligibility.” id. at 21.

On October 8, 2014, J.C., by and through his next friend, M.C., submitted his Complaint (Doc. 1) to appeal the final decision of the administrative law judge pursuant to 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(2). On January 23, 2015, Plaintiff submitted his disclosures according to Rule 26, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, in which he noted that “[e]xpert testimony will be utilized as to Plaintiffs needs for compensatory education.” (Doc. 60-1 at 2). After the Court granted the parties’ joint motion to extend [1322]*1322the discovery deadline to October 16, 2015, (see Doc. 47), Plaintiff filed his Motion to Hear Additional Evidence (Doc. 51) on the new deadline date. The Motion to Hear Additional Evidence seeks to add to the record the testimony of Joseph Calvin Gagnon, Ph.D., a professor in the Special Education Department at the University of Florida. (See Doc. 57-1 at 13).

II. STANDARD FOR RECEIVING ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act provides that a reviewing federal court “(i) shall receive the records of the administrative proceedings; (ii) shall hear additional evidence at the request of a party; and (iii) basing its decision on the preponderance of the evidence, shall grant such relief as the court determines is appropriate.” 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(2)(C). Despite the use of the word “shall,” the Eleventh Circuit has not held that a district court must accept additional evidence upon a party’s request. See G.J. v. Muscogee Cty. Sch.

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Bluebook (online)
210 F. Supp. 3d 1318, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 143067, 2016 WL 5868104, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jc-ex-rel-mc-v-school-board-of-st-johns-county-flmd-2016.