NLDline
Subj: ALERT! NEW DECISION IN
"TIME-OUT ROOM" ABUSE CASE
Date: 3/7/00 5:01:51 PM Pacific Standard Time
From: webmaster@wrightslaw.com (Wrightslaw)
Sender: owner-special-ed-advocate@wrightslaw.com
To: special-ed-advocate@wrightslaw.com
ALERT! NEW DECISION IN "TIME-OUT ROOM" ABUSE CASE FROM SIXTH CIRCUIT
On Monday, March 6, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision about damages in
“COVINGTON V KNOX COUNTY (TN)."
* * BACKGROUND * *
David Jason Covington, now 22 years of age, "was a special education student at the
Knoxville Adaptive Education Center from 1990 until he graduated with a special education
decision in May 1996. He suffers from 'multiple mental and emotional disabilities.'"
"TIME-OUT ROOM" -- OR CELL?
In the complaint, Jason's parent alleged that "on several occasions between 1990 and
1994, Jason was locked in a 'time out room' that could only be unlocked from the
outside." The 'time-out room' sounds like a cell, and was described in the complaint
as follows:
". . . approximately four feet by six feet, dark and 'vault-like,' with a concrete
floor, no furniture, no heat, no
ventilation, and only one small reinforced window located at least five feet above the
floor."
In her complaint, the parent "claims that Jason was repeatedly locked in the time-out
room for several hours at a time without supervision and was often not allowed to leave
the room for lunch. On at least one occasion, Jason was allegedly made to disrobe before
being locked in the time-out room . . . [and] because of the lack of supervision by school
officials and the long duration of his confinement, Jason was forced to relieve himself on
the concrete floor of the room and to remain there with his excrement for a period of
time."
TENNESSEE DEPT. OF ED. FAILS TO INVESTIGATE, SENDS ABUSE COMPLAINT BACK TO SCHOOL DISTRICT
These incidents led Jason's mother to file an administrative complaint with the Tennessee
Department of Education on March 17, 1994.
What did the Tennessee Department of Education Do? Did the Department of Education conduct
an unannounced on-site visit to determine whether these allegations were true?
According to the pleadings, the Department of Education did not investigate the
allegations. Instead, the Department of Education referred the complaint back to the Knox
County School System. What did Knox County do? The pleadings state that "The Knox
County School System wrote a letter that denied the allegations in part and 'attempted to
explain the school officials actions, but offered no other relief.'"
Following this, Jason's parent requested a due process hearing. Although the due process
hearing was rescheduled several times, often at the parent's request, the hearing was
never held. On April 3, 1998, Jason's mother filed a complaint in federal district court.
She alleged that her son's civil rights had been violated and raised state-law claims of
intentional infliction of emotional distress and false imprisonment. The complaint did not
mention the IDEA.
Knox County Schools moved for summary judgment. A Motion for Summary Judgment states that
even if the facts are true, the plaintiff does not have a case. In this instance, the
school district asserted that because the parent failed to exhaust her administrative
remedies, the case must be dismissed. The district court agreed. The court found that the
parent was required to exhaust her administrative remedies under IDEA "because her
complaint involved the school's disciplinary practices." Because she "had not
exhausted her administrative remedies and that she had failed to demonstrate that such
exhaustion would be futile" the district court granted the school
district's motion and dismissed the case.
The Court of Appeals reversed.
* * EXCEPTIONS TO EXHAUSTION REQUIREMENT * *
In their decision, the Sixth Circuit discussed exceptions to the exhaustion requirement
under IDEA:
" . . . we hold that in the unique circumstances of this case -- in which the injured
child has already graduated from the special education school, his injuries are wholly in
the past, and therefore money damages are the only remedy that can make him whole --
proceeding through the state's administrative process would be futile and is not required
before the plaintiff can file suit in federal court."
In support of their decision, the Court cited the recent Ninth Circuit decision in WITTE
V. CLARK COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT (9th Cir. 1999).
If you are a long-time newsletter subscriber, you remember the WITTE case. Subscribers
received an Alert when the WITTE decision was issued.
http://www.wrightslaw.com/news/1999/news_Alert_Witte_99_1203.html
In WITTE, the child suffered physical and emotional abuse by education officials and later
requested monetary damages. The Ninth Circuit found that relief for the child's injuries
was 'retrospective only' and that . . . relief available under the IDEA was not
well-suited to remedying past instances of physical injury."
In html:http://www.wrightslaw.com/law/caselaw/9th_Witte_ClarkCo_991202.htm
In PDF: http://www.wrightslaw.com/law/caselaw/9th_Witte_ClarkCo_991202.pdf
In support of their decision in COVINGTON, the Sixth Circuit also cited W. B. V. MATULA
(3rd Cir. 1995) which held "that exhaustion was not required for plaintiffs seeking
money damages, because damages are unavailable through the administrative process . .
." Get the full text of the new COVINGTON decision in pdf format at
http://www.wrightslaw.com/law/caselaw/6th_Covington_Knox_00_0306.pdf
and in html format at
http://www.wrightslaw.com/law/caselaw/6th_Covington_KnoxTN_00_0306.htm
* * CAUTIONARY NOTE FROM WRIGHTSLAW * *
As part of the legal analysis of this case, the Court of Appeals assumed that the factual
allegations were true. This is a factor used by courts to test a legal principle and does
not mean that the factual allegations have been proven true.
In COVINGTON (and in WITTE), there has not yet been a trial by judge or jury where factual
allegations were proven to be either true or false. In both cases, the lower courts
dismissed the cases on an issue of law, while assuming that the facts were true.
Thus, when reading appellate decisions, it is necessary to determine if the facts in the
opinion have been proven true as a result of a trial, or are simply the facts that are
alleged in the complaint, and for purposes of legal analysis, were assumed to be true.
==============
* * SIXTH CIRCUIT STATES * *
The Sixth Circuit includes the following states:
* Kentucky
* Michigan
* Ohio
* Tennessee
To find your circuit, check the Wrightslaw Circuit Finder at
http://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/law_circuit_finder.htm
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