Jenkins v. Butts County School District

984 F. Supp. 2d 1368, 2013 WL 6169202, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 166743
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Georgia
DecidedNovember 25, 2013
DocketCivil Action No. 5:13-CV-47 (MTT)
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 984 F. Supp. 2d 1368 (Jenkins v. Butts County School District) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jenkins v. Butts County School District, 984 F. Supp. 2d 1368, 2013 WL 6169202, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 166743 (M.D. Ga. 2013).

Opinion

ORDER

MARC T. TREADWELL, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on the Defendant’s motion to dismiss. (Doc. 44). For the reasons discussed below, the Defendant’s motion is DENIED.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Premessa Jenkins’s child, T.J., is enrolled in Defendant Butts County School District (the “School District”). (Doc. 33 at ¶ 1). Jenkins alleges the School District failed to provide her child, who has autism and other learning disabilities, with a free and appropriate public education (“FAPE”) pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”). (Doc. 33 at ¶¶ 6, 23). T.J. was a full-time student in the School District’s special education classes from September 1999 until January 2008. (Doc. 33 at ¶ 7). Pursuant to the IDEA, the School District was responsible for developing an individualized education program (“IEP”) for T.J. each year, and Jenkins alleges each IEP was deficient. (Doc. 33 at ¶¶ 9, 13-14). [1371]*1371On January 17, 2008, T.J. was removed from school and began receiving limited instruction at her home. (Doc. 38 at ¶ 15). At the IEP committee meeting held on January 17, Jenkins alleges the School District did not discuss any options other than home-based studies, reasons for rejecting those options, or a reintegration plan to bring T.J. back into the classroom. (Doc. 33 at ¶ 16). In September 2008, the School District placed T.J. in an after-school program that provided 1.75 hours of instruction per day for four days out of the week. (Doc. 33 at ¶ 17). T.J. remained in the after-school program until October 2010 when she was allowed to return to full-time special education classes at school. (Doc. 33 at ¶ 18).

Jenkins alleges T.J. did not receive speech and occupational therapy from January 2008 to October 2010 as required by her IEPs. (Doc. 33 at ¶ 19). As of April 16, 2009, the School District described T.J.’s academic and personal functioning as being at a toddler level, and T.J. only knows a few words and hand signs although she has the ability to speak. (Doc. 33 at ¶ 22).

On April 26, 2011, Jenkins filed a pro se administrative complaint against the School District with the Georgia Department of Education (“DOE”)1 regarding T.J.’s lack of progress in the School District’s schools. (Doc. 33 at ¶ 24). Jenkins alleges the School District failed to provide her with information on procedural safeguards, such as free or low-cost legal services, as required by the IDEA. (Doc. 33 at ¶ 25). DOE denied Jenkins’s complaint on June 29, and Jenkins alleges she was told no other avenues for review existed. (Doc. 33 at ¶ 26).

On August 10, 2012, Jenkins filed a pro se due process hearing request form (“due process complaint”) against the School District with the Georgia Office of State Administrative Hearings (“OSAH”).2 (Doc. 33 at ¶ 29). After Jenkins obtained counsel, she filed a motion for permission to amend her due process complaint to identify statutes and claims pertinent to her case and for additional time to respond to the School District’s counterclaim. (Doc. 20-2 at 86). The OSAH Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) stated that Jenkins’s due process complaint could only be amended pursuant to 34 C.F.R. § 300.508(d)(3) if the defendant consented to the amendment or the administrative court granted permission. (Doc. 20-2 at 82). The ALJ noted that the School District did not consent to the amendment, and the ALJ declined to grant permission and, thus, denied Jenkins’s motion to amend. (Doc. 20-2 at 82). The School District filed its motion to dismiss on September 14. (Doc. 20-2 at 78). On November 7, the ALJ, treating the School District’s motion to dismiss as a motion for summary determination, found Jenkins’s due process complaint was barred by the statute of limitations, and Jenkins sought relief the IDEA did not authorize. (Doc. 20-2 at 51-56). Therefore, the ALJ dismissed Jenkins’s complaint.

Jenkins filed a motion for reconsideration with attached exhibits on November 20, 2012.3 (Doc. 20-2 at 39-50). The ALJ denied the motion on December 12 because the motion was untimely, the argu[1372]*1372ments in the motion were waived due to Jenkins’s failure to raise them in response to the motion to dismiss, and there were not sufficient grounds for reconsideration. (Doc. 20-2 at 2-3). Jenkins filed a new complaint in this Court on February 7, 2013. (Doc. 1).

II. DISCUSSION

A. Standard of Review

“A defendant can move to dismiss a complaint under Rule 12(b)(1) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction by either facial or factual attack.” Stalley v. Orlando Reg’l Healthcare Sys., Inc., 524 F.3d 1229, 1232 (11th Cir.2008) (citation omitted). “A facial attack on the complaint requires the court merely to look and see if the plaintiff has sufficiently alleged a basis of subject matter jurisdiction, and the allegations in his complaint are taken as true for the purposes of the motion.” Id. at 1232-33 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). A factual attack, however, “challenges the existence of subject matter jurisdiction using material extrinsic from the pleadings, such as affidavits or testimony.” Id. at 1233 (citation omitted). The Parties reference nothing other than the amended complaint and the administrative record. Thus, the Court will confine its analysis to the contents of those documents.

To avoid dismissal pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), a complaint must contain specific factual matter to “ ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678,129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). “At the motion to dismiss stage, all well-pleaded facts are accepted as true, and the reasonable inferences therefrom are construed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff.” Garfield v. NDC Health Corp., 466 F.3d 1255, 1261 (11th Cir.2006) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). However, “where the well-pleaded facts do not permit the court to infer more than the mere possibility of misconduct, the complaint has alleged — but it has not ‘shown’ — that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937. “[C]onclusory allegations, unwarranted deductions of facts or legal conclusions masquerading as facts will not prevent dismissal.” Oxford Asset Mgmt., Ltd. v. Jaharis, 297 F.3d 1182, 1188 (11th Cir.2002). Where there are dispositive issues of law, a court may dismiss a claim regardless of the alleged facts. Marshall Cnty. Bd. of Educ. v. Marshall Cnty. Gas Dist., 992 F.2d 1171, 1174 (11th Cir.1993) (citation omitted).

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Bluebook (online)
984 F. Supp. 2d 1368, 2013 WL 6169202, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 166743, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jenkins-v-butts-county-school-district-gamd-2013.