Doe v. Todd Cty. Sch. Dist., No. 09-3221

By FindLaw Staff on November 12, 2010 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act Decision

In Doe v. Todd Cty. Sch. Dist., No. 09-3221, an action claiming that defendant school officials violated plaintiff's federal procedural due process rights when his Individualized Education Program (IEP) team placed him in an alternative high school setting for thirty-eight days, summary judgment for plaintiffs is reversed where plaintiff's right to procedural due process was limited to the procedures governing the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act decision-maker under 20 U.S.C. section 1415.

As the court wrote: "In September 2005, Jonathan Doe (a pseudonym to protect his privacy) was a public school student with a reading disability receiving special education and related

services at Todd County High School (TCHS) in Mission, South Dakota, as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. §§ 1400 et seq., and by S.D. Codified Laws Ch. 13-37. After Doe was suspended for fighting and bringing a pocket knife to school, he brought this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 damage action against the Todd County School District and three school officials (collectively, "the District") claiming that they violated his federal procedural due process rights when his Individualized Education Program (IEP) team placed him in an alternative high school setting for thirty-eight days."

Related Resources

Read the Eighth Circuit's Decision in Doe v. Todd Cty. Sch. Dist., No. 09-3221