Sweet Stevens Successfully Defends School District Against Abuse Allegations
News Release
New Britain, PA – The Downingtown Area School District, represented by Karl A. Romberger, Jr. of Sweet, Stevens, Katz & Williams LLP, recently prevailed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, which affirmed that the school’s implementation of safety protocols for a young special needs student with serious behavioral regulation issues were not acts of child abuse, as alleged by the student’s parents.
The claim at the core of the complaint was the parents’ allegation that teachers and staff used unapproved restraints on the child, as reported by a privately hired behavioral aide. A video showed school staff employing a standard technique of blocking the child with a gym mat while attempting to calm her. A Child Protective Services investigation found the claim of abuse was unfounded, saying that, while the incident may have been traumatic for the student, it was not the result of conduct by staff that was “intentional, knowing or reckless.”
The parents initially filed an administrative complaint focused on the school district’s failure to provide a free appropriate public education for their child. They discontinued the action before the complaint went to a hearing. Separately, the school district filed its own due process complaint seeking an expedited hearing whether the student could be placed in an alternative education setting due to persistent challenges with regulating her behavior. The hearing officer granted the school district’s request, noting that maintaining the placement would be “substantially likely to result in injury to the student or to others,” an important finding for the federal court’s dismissal decision.
In federal court, the parents alleged seven counts: two counts against the district for violation of Fourteenth Amendment rights to personal security and bodily integrity, and the school district’s failure to train or supervise; one count each for alleged violations of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act; and three state law claims against individual defendants for assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and breach of fiduciary duty.
The court ultimately dismissed all claims against the school district and rejected the plaintiffs’ request for leave to file a second amended complaint. The court noted that the plaintiffs’ assertions of gross negligence or deliberate indifference were implausible.
“This decision is significant, as school districts across the country are grappling with a rise in behavioral problems,” noted Romberger. “These issues are complex and not easily addressed, and this ruling provides clarity for both school districts and parents of disabled children.”
Karl Romberger advises school entities about special education, student services, school-behavioral health placement reimbursement disputes, civil rights, policy development, contracts, and service provider arrangements. He also represents educational institutions in administrative hearings, including special education cases, MOU reimbursement actions, and actions before the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, and litigation in both state and federal courts.
Sweet, Stevens, Katz & Williams, LLP was formed in 1995 by nine experienced education lawyers who created the first private law practice in Pennsylvania dedicated entirely to Education Law. Since then, the firm has grown to 26 attorneys who represent over 290 school and municipal entities as Solicitors or as Special Counsel in more than 50 counties throughout Pennsylvania, and in additional practice areas, such as Construction Law, Tax Assessment Appeals, Audit of Operations and Practices, Real Estate Law and Oil, Gas and Mineral Law.