MLM Attorney Joshua Coleman Scores Win for Schools in Federal Court
MLM attorney Joshua Coleman scored a win for Massachusetts public schools at the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Roe et al. v. Baker et al., a case concerning whether the transition by school districts to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic violated the rights of special education students under the IDEA and other federal laws. This was a case of first impression in the First Circuit.
The Plaintiffs in this case initially brought their claim in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, arguing that their children, who qualified for services under the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), “necessitate in-person services including occupational therapy, speech therapy, social work services, and resource room services.” As a result, the Plaintiffs argued, the Defendants, including the Governor, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), and Brookline, Somerville, and Wellesley Public Schools and their superintendents, violated the Plaintiffs rights under the IDEA when they switched schools to remote instruction in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Plaintiffs sought a declaration that their children’s proper educational placement is in-person learning, an injunction against future school closures, and compensatory, nominal, and punitive damages.
The Defendants moved to dismiss this lawsuit and, in a 17-page ruling, United States District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns granted the dismissal, finding that Plaintiffs had failed to administratively exhaust all of their “FAPE- related” claims (including claims under the IDEA, the associated Massachusetts regulations, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 , the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and 42 U.S.C. § 1983) before bringing suit, and had further failed to state a claim under the various laws under which they brought their claims, including Section 504, the ADA, Section 1983, as well as, in what the First Circuit described as a “zealous overreach”, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). The Plaintiffs appealed to the First Circuit.
Representing the Somerville Public Schools at the First Circuit, Attorney Coleman argued before a panel of three First Circuit judges that the claim should again be dismissed because the Defendants did not violate the IDEA, Plaintiffs did not have standing to seek prospective declaratory relief or an injunction prohibiting school closures, and the claims for declaratory and injunctive relief were moot given the end of the state of emergency surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and the full reopening of schools. The First Circuit agreed, and on August 14, 2023 it issued a decision dismissing the case.
Attorney Coleman is a shareholder at Murphy, Lamere & Murphy, P.C., who focuses his practice on education and labor and employment law.
