Justia Government & Administrative Law Opinion Summaries

Jacob Doe, a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), was found responsible for two allegations of sexual misconduct and subsequently expelled from the university system. Doe sued the university and several employees, claiming violations of his Fourteenth Amendment due process rights, Title IX, and various state laws. The district court largely denied the defendants' motions to dismiss, allowing Doe’s federal and most state law claims to proceed.The defendants appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The appellate court found that the district court erred in rejecting the defendants' claims of sovereign and qualified immunity. The court held that the UNC institutions were entitled to sovereign immunity, reversing the district court’s decision to allow Doe’s claims against them. Additionally, the court determined that the individual university employees were entitled to qualified immunity regarding Doe’s due process claims for damages, as the right to cross-examination in university disciplinary proceedings was not clearly established at the time.However, the appellate court affirmed the district court’s decision to allow Doe to seek prospective injunctive relief for the alleged due process violations. The court recognized that Doe had adequately alleged a liberty interest due to the permanent expulsion and the ongoing harm from the erroneous disciplinary record. The court declined to exercise pendent appellate jurisdiction over the district court’s denial of the motion to dismiss Doe’s Title IX claim against UNC-CH, dismissing that portion of the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.In conclusion, the Fourth Circuit affirmed in part, reversed in part, and dismissed in part the district court’s rulings, allowing Doe’s claims for prospective injunctive relief to proceed while dismissing his claims for damages against the UNC institutions and individual employees. View "Doe v. The University of North Carolina System" on Justia Law

An eight-year-old student, J.S., was sexually assaulted by her bus driver, Sergio Sandoval, multiple times over a month. J.S.'s parents filed a lawsuit against the Ocean Springs School District under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act, alleging negligence, negligent hiring, retention, supervision, and training, failure to adopt and follow policies, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and civil assault, battery, and false imprisonment. The Jackson County Circuit Court granted summary judgment in favor of the District, finding it was entitled to discretionary-function immunity and that Sandoval’s actions were not reasonably foreseeable.The plaintiff appealed the decision. The Mississippi Supreme Court reviewed the case and determined that while the District was protected by discretionary-function immunity regarding the failure to adopt sufficient policies and procedures, the claims related to negligent hiring, supervision, and training were not barred by this immunity. The court found that these claims involved simple negligence and did not involve policy decisions.The court also held that the plaintiff had demonstrated a genuine issue of material fact regarding the foreseeability of the injuries. The court noted that the District’s own measures to screen and monitor its bus drivers indicated that a person of ordinary intelligence could anticipate that failure to properly do so could lead to the type of injury sustained by J.S.The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s decision in part, reversed it in part, and remanded the case for further proceedings consistent with its findings. View "J.S. v. Ocean Springs School District" on Justia Law

Jason Earlywine was employed as a teacher by the Board of Education of Paris Independent School District (BEP) from August 2007 to June 2019. In 2011, a student accused him of inappropriate conduct, leading to his placement on paid administrative leave, which was later changed to unpaid leave. He faced a criminal charge of Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, but the trial court granted him a directed verdict in January 2015, and the charge was expunged. Earlywine was reinstated in February 2015 but was terminated in 2019 for unspecified reasons. In 2020, he sued BEP to recover lost wages during his unpaid leave.The Bourbon Circuit Court initially handled the case, determining that BEP was within the waiver of immunity under KRS 45A.245(1) but transferred the case to Franklin Circuit Court due to venue appropriateness. BEP appealed, arguing governmental immunity and failure to exhaust administrative remedies. The Court of Appeals ruled that BEP's immunity was waived under KRS 45A.245(1) but concluded that Earlywine's failure to exhaust administrative remedies deprived the court of subject matter jurisdiction.The Supreme Court of Kentucky reviewed the case, affirming that BEP is subject to the waiver of immunity under KRS 45A.245(1). However, it reversed the Court of Appeals' conclusion regarding the exhaustion of administrative remedies, stating that this issue is subject to exceptions and should not have been addressed on interlocutory appeal. The Supreme Court remanded the case to Franklin Circuit Court for further proceedings, allowing Earlywine to argue any applicable exceptions to the exhaustion requirement. View "BOARD OF EDUCATION OF PARIS, KENTUCKY V. EARLYWINE" on Justia Law

Nathan Zent, who has spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy, has been a student at Dickinson State University (DSU) since 2015, pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in English with a Political Science Minor. Zent, who uses a motorized wheelchair and an iPad with text-to-speech assistive technology, received vocational rehabilitation (VR) services from the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) from 2015 until May 2023. His individualized plan for employment (IPE) identified an employment outcome of journalist or writer, which DHHS supported until 2022. However, DHHS discontinued Zent’s services, citing concerns about his ability to achieve competitive integrated employment due to his need for significant support.The Division of Vocational Rehabilitation of DHHS decided to discontinue Zent’s VR services, and an administrative law judge (ALJ) affirmed this decision. Zent appealed to the district court of Stark County, which also affirmed the ALJ’s decision. Zent then appealed to the North Dakota Supreme Court, arguing that DHHS’s decision was based on an erroneous interpretation of the statutes and regulations governing VR services and that the ALJ applied the incorrect standard of proof.The North Dakota Supreme Court reviewed the case and affirmed the district court’s judgment. The court held that DHHS did not misapply the statutes and regulations governing VR services in determining that Zent’s chosen employment outcome of journalist or writer was inconsistent with the goal of competitive integrated employment. The court also concluded that the ALJ correctly applied the preponderance of the evidence standard, as the clear and convincing standard only applies to eligibility determinations for VR services, not to determinations regarding specific employment outcomes. View "Zent v. NDDHHS" on Justia Law

Fiorisce, LLC, a limited liability company, filed a qui tam lawsuit against Colorado Technical University (CTU) under the False Claims Act (FCA), alleging that CTU misrepresented compliance with federal credit hour requirements to fraudulently obtain federal student aid funds. Fiorisce claimed that CTU's online learning platform, Intellipath, provided insufficient educational content and falsified learning hour calculations to meet federal standards. Fiorisce's principal, a former CTU faculty member, created the company to protect their identity while exposing the alleged fraud.The United States District Court for the District of Colorado reviewed the case. CTU moved to dismiss the complaint, arguing that the FCA’s public disclosure bar precluded the suit because the allegations were substantially similar to previously disclosed information. The district court denied CTU’s motion, finding that Fiorisce’s specific claims about misrepresentation of credit hours and the use of Intellipath were not substantially the same as prior disclosures. The court also suggested that Fiorisce might qualify as an original source of the information.CTU appealed the district court’s denial of its motion to dismiss to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, seeking interlocutory review under the collateral order doctrine. The Tenth Circuit concluded that the collateral order doctrine did not apply, as the public disclosure bar did not confer a right to avoid trial and could be effectively reviewed after final judgment. The court emphasized that expanding the collateral order doctrine to include such denials would undermine the final judgment rule and dismissed CTU’s appeal for lack of jurisdiction. View "Fiorisce, LLC v. Colorado Technical University" on Justia Law

William A., a dyslexic student, graduated from high school with a 3.4 GPA but was unable to read. His parents filed a complaint under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), claiming the school failed to provide him with a free appropriate public education (FAPE). The school had developed an individualized education plan (IEP) for William, which included language therapy and one-on-one instruction, but he made no progress in reading fluency throughout middle and high school. His parents eventually arranged for private tutoring, which helped him make some progress.An administrative law judge (ALJ) held a due-process hearing and found that the school had violated William's right to a FAPE under the IDEA. The ALJ ordered the school to provide 888 hours of dyslexia tutoring. William's parents then sought an order in federal court for the tutoring to be provided by a specific tutor, Dr. McAfee. The school counterclaimed, seeking reversal of the ALJ's order. The district court, applying a "modified de novo" standard of review, affirmed the ALJ's findings and ordered the same relief but denied the request for Dr. McAfee specifically.The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reviewed the case. The court found that the school had not provided William with a FAPE, as his IEPs focused on fluency rather than foundational reading skills necessary for him to learn to read. The court noted that William's accommodations masked his inability to read rather than addressing it. The court affirmed the district court's judgment, holding that the school failed to provide an education tailored to William's unique needs, as required by the IDEA. View "William A. v. Clarksville-Montgomery County School System" on Justia Law

Plaintiff Curtis Hier requested records from the Slate Valley Unified School District related to incidents of restraint and seclusion of students at Fair Haven Grade School. Specifically, he sought redacted copies of "Rule 4500 forms" from January to April 2021, documents related to the use of certain rooms between 2015 and 2022, and any redacted restraint and seclusion documents concerning the assistant principal. The school district denied the requests, claiming the records were student records and thus exempt from disclosure under the Public Records Act.The Superior Court, Rutland Unit, Civil Division, denied the school district's motion for summary judgment and granted summary judgment to the plaintiff. The court found that the Rule 4500 forms were not student records but were meant for monitoring the use of restraint and seclusion in schools. It ordered the school district to disclose the forms with specific redactions to protect student privacy. The court also denied the plaintiff's motion to amend the judgment to remove certain redactions.The Vermont Supreme Court reviewed the case and reversed the trial court's decision. The Supreme Court held that the Rule 4500 forms are categorically exempt from disclosure as student records under the Public Records Act. The court emphasized that the language of the student records exception is broad and unqualified, similar to its previous ruling in Caledonian-Record Publishing Co. v. Vermont State Colleges. The court concluded that the forms, which contain information related to specific students and incidents, fall squarely within the statutory exception for student records and are not subject to redaction or disclosure. View "Hier v. Slate Valley Unified School District" on Justia Law

The Austin American-Statesman requested the University of Texas at Austin to disclose the final results of disciplinary hearings involving sex offenses. The University refused to provide the information without seeking a decision from the Office of the Attorney General (OAG). The Statesman sued the University, seeking a writ of mandamus to compel the disclosure of the records.The trial court granted the Statesman’s motion for summary judgment, ordering the University to produce the requested information. The court found that the University was required to seek an OAG decision and that its failure to do so raised the presumption that the information was subject to disclosure. The court of appeals affirmed the trial court’s decision, holding that the University did not establish a compelling reason for withholding the information and that Section 552.114(b) of the Texas Public Information Act (PIA) did not give the University discretion to withhold the records. The court of appeals also reversed the trial court’s denial of attorney fees to the Statesman.The Supreme Court of Texas reviewed the case and held that Section 552.026 of the PIA grants educational institutions discretion to disclose information in education records if the disclosure is authorized by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The Court concluded that the PIA does not require the release of such information. Additionally, the Court held that the University was not required to seek an OAG decision before withholding the information, as Section 552.114(d) allows educational institutions to redact information without requesting an OAG decision. The Supreme Court of Texas reversed the court of appeals’ judgment and rendered judgment for the University. View "THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN v. GATEHOUSE MEDIA TEXAS HOLDINGS II, INC." on Justia Law

K.N., an eight-year-old boy with multiple disabilities, lives in a non-wheelchair-accessible apartment in the District of Columbia. His mother, Margda Pierre-Noel, requested that the District and his school, Bridges Public Charter School, provide assistance to move K.N. from their apartment door to the school bus. The District denied the request, citing its policy that staff only retrieve students from the outermost door of their dwelling and do not physically lift or carry students.The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) hearing officer ruled that it was beyond his authority to order the requested assistance but required OSSE to offer transportation services to and from the outer door of K.N.'s apartment building. Pierre-Noel then filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, which granted summary judgment in favor of the District, ruling that the service requested was not a transportation service under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reviewed the case. The court held that the IDEA requires the District to provide door-to-door transportation services for K.N., as such services are necessary for him to benefit from his special education. The court found that the term "transportation" under the IDEA includes moving a child from their apartment door to the vehicle that will take them to school. The court vacated the district court's grant of summary judgment and remanded the case for further proceedings consistent with its opinion. The appeal was dismissed as moot with respect to Bridges Public Charter School, as K.N. was no longer enrolled there. View "Pierre-Noel v. Bridges Public Charter School" on Justia Law

J.B., a student with multiple disabilities, was enrolled in the Kyrene Elementary School District. Due to concerns about the school's handling of J.B.'s behavioral issues, J.B.'s parent, L.B., withdrew J.B. from the District and placed J.B. in a private school, Brightmont Academy. The District attempted to conduct evaluations to update J.B.'s Individualized Education Program (IEP), but L.B. refused to consent to these evaluations, proposing instead that the District use video recordings for assessments.The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) found that the District did not violate the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and ruled in favor of the District. L.B. appealed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, which affirmed the ALJ's decision. The District Court found that L.B. refused to consent to the District's evaluations and made it clear that she did not intend to re-enroll J.B. in the District.The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reviewed the case and affirmed the District Court's judgment. The Ninth Circuit held that the District did not deny a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) to J.B. because L.B.'s refusal to consent to evaluations relieved the District of further obligations under IDEA. Additionally, the court found that the District's procedural error in stating that no further IEP meetings would occur because J.B. was not enrolled in the District was harmless, as it did not result in a deprivation of educational opportunity for J.B. Consequently, L.B. was not entitled to reimbursement for private school tuition and related expenses. View "J.B. V. KYRENE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 28" on Justia Law