Filed Date: Sept. 13, 2001
Closed Date: 2013
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On September 13, 2001, seven students with disabilities, by and through their parents, filed this class-action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin against the Milwaukee Public School System ("MPS") and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction ("DPI"). The Plaintiffs, represented by attorneys from Disability Rights Wisconsin, claimed that MPS violated their right to a free, appropriate public education as guaranteed by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Specifically, the Plaintiffs claimed that they were improperly denied special education services and Individualized Education Programs ("IEPs") designed to fit their needs.
The Plaintiffs' original complaint defined the class as "all school age children with disabilities who reside in the Milwaukee Public School District boundaries and who are or may be eligible for special education and related services under IDEA and Wisconsin law." The court, however found this too broad, which prompted the Plaintiffs to file an amended complaint on May 3, 2004, redefining the class as "all students eligible to receive special education from MPS who are, have been or will be denied or delayed entry into or participation in the IEP process." Magistrate Judge Aaron Goodstein granted the Plaintiffs' motion for class certification.
The district court eventually held a bench trial and found both the city and state Defendants liable for systemic violations of the IDEA. Jamie S. v. Milwaukee Pub. Sch., 519 F. Supp. 2d 870 (E.D. Wis. 2007). At that point, DPI settled with the class, agreeing to order MPS to meet certain compliance benchmarks. The district court approved the settlement over MPS's objection. 2008 WL 2340362 (E.D. Wis. June 6, 2008). The settlement required that MPS conduct at least 95% of its initial evaluations within the required time period (or get proper extensions), that MPS make a reasonable effort to ensure that a parent or guardian was present at 95% of the initial IEP meetings, and that MPS make better efforts in identifying children with disabilities by monitoring school suspension patterns. The Court then appointed a monitor for a two-year period to track MPS's compliance, and imposed a comprehensive remedial scheme. 2009 WL 1615520 (E.D. Wis. June 9, 2009).
MPS appealed to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Plaintiffs cross-appealed the denial of certification of their first proposed class. On February 3, 2012, the Seventh Circuit (Judge Diane S. Sykes) quickly dismissed the Plaintiffs cross-appeal, noting that it was neither timely nor within the Court's jurisdiction. Turning to MPS's appeal, the Court vacated the Settlement Agreement, holding that the class never should have been certified because the Plaintiffs' cases were "highly individualized and vastly diverse," thus making the case inappropriate for a class-action lawsuit. Jamie S. v. Milwaukee Public Schools, 668 F.3d 481 (7th Cir. 2012).
The 7th Circuit opinion stated: "What remains are the claims of the individual Plaintiffs; the district court did not find a denial of a free appropriate public education [FAPE] in any individual case. Furthermore, the court's reasons for excusing administrative exhaustion appear to have been tied to the class allegations, and it's not clear whether the court would have excused exhaustion for any of the individual claims. Finally, it's possible - perhaps likely - that some of the named Plaintiffs' individual circumstances have changed such that their claims are now moot. We leave it to the district court on remand the task of determining whether anything remains of this case and what, if anything, should happen next." Jamie S. v. Milwaukee Pub. Sch., 668 F.3d 481, 499-500 (7th Cir. 2012).
On remand, the district court's Judge Rudolph Randa dismissed the action altogether on August 20, 2012. Judge Randa entered a judgment in favor of Defendant Milwaukee Public Schools and against Disability Rights of Wisconsin, and ordered the Disability Rights of Wisconsin to pay the Defendant's attorney fees of $459,123.96.
In entering the judgment to dismiss, the court explained several reasons from the Seventh Circuit decision to remand:
- A dispute over eligibility policies concerns that the Plaintiff raised--such as the Defendant's alleged failure to identify and evaluate individual disabled children--are in essence, disputes for which the Plaintiffs should have exhausted administrative remedies and utilized the formal administrative process.In conclusion, none of the individual Plaintiffs had followed the formal process, and therefore, the court dismissed the case in favor of the Defendant. The plaintiffs appealed, but later withdrew the appeal. The case is closed.- The class should not have been certified in the first place. The reason is that while none of the Plaintiffs exhausted their administrative remedies, and the exception for systemic violations is essentially a "class action exception," the exception does not apply here because Wisconsin's procedures are capable of resolving child find disputes on a case-by-case, individual basis. In summary, administrative process can resolve individual child find disputes.
- Plaintiffs' argument that exhaustion should be excused because their claims are "systemic" in nature is without merit because the Defendants cannot find safe harbor in the exception for systemic violations--each Plaintiff must offer an individual excuse for failing to exhaust the administrative process.
Summary Authors
Joshua Arocho (8/3/2012)
Lisa Koo (3/3/2019)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4630286/parties/s-v-school-bd-milwaukee/
Bachhuber, Michael J. (Wisconsin)
Aldana, Michael (Wisconsin)
Andeen, Lisa (Wisconsin)
Anderson, Nicholas O (Wisconsin)
Appleby, Jane E. (Wisconsin)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4630286/s-v-school-bd-milwaukee/
Last updated Feb. 4, 2025, 7:36 p.m.
State / Territory: Wisconsin
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: Sept. 13, 2001
Closing Date: 2013
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
All students eligible to receive special education from Milwaukee Public Schools who are, have been or will be denied or delayed entry into or participation in the Individualized Education Program process.
Plaintiff Type(s):
Attorney Organizations:
NDRN/Protection & Advocacy Organizations
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: Yes
Class Action Outcome: Granted
Defendants
Milwaukee Public Schools, School District
Milwaukee Board of School Directors, School District
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, State
Defendant Type(s):
Facility Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Indv. w/ Disab. Educ. Act (IDEA), Educ. of All Handcpd. Children Act , 20 U.S.C. § 1400
Section 504 (Rehabilitation Act), 29 U.S.C. § 701
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: None Yet / None
Nature of Relief:
Source of Relief:
Issues
General/Misc.:
Disability and Disability Rights:
Medical/Mental Health Care: