A.H. v. Minersville Area Sch. Dist.

290 F.Supp.3d 321

A.H., a minor, BY her next friend and mother, Tracey HANDLING, Plaintiff,

v.MINERSVILLE AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT, et al., Defendants.

3:17–CV–391

United States District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania.

Filed November 22, 2017

Jason D. Schiffer, Cohen, Feeley, Altemose & Rambo, David L. Deratzian, Hahalis & Kounoupis, P.C., Bethlehem, PA, for Plaintiff.

Christopher J. Conrad, Nicole M. Ehrhart, Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman and Goggin, Camp Hill, PA, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Robert D. Mariani, United States District Judge

I. INTRODUCTION

This case arises out of a claim that Defendant, Minersville Area School District, prohibited Plaintiff, an eight-year-old girl attending Minersville Elementary School, from using the girl's bathroom while at school or at school sponsored events. The dispute centers on the allegations that Defendant had a policy dictating that children must use the bathroom corresponding to the sex listed on the student's birth certificate and Plaintiff—who uses a female name, dresses in clothing traditionally associated with females, and presents herself to the world as a female—was assigned the sex of male at birth. Plaintiff's Amended Complaint asserts that the school district's policy of prohibiting her from using the girl's bathroom has violated her rights under both Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. §§ 1681, et seq. , and the Fourteenth Amendment. (Doc. 10). Presently before the Court is Defendant's Motion to Dismiss. (Doc. 11). For the reasons that follow, the Court will deny Defendant's Motion.

II. FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS

Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint alleges the following facts which, for the purposes of resolving Defendant's Motion, the Court takes as true:

Plaintiff, A.H., is an eight-year-old girl currently enrolled in the second grade at Minersville Elementary School. (Doc. 10 at ¶ 2). Plaintiff is transgender, "meaning that she was assigned the sex of male at birth but she has a female gender identity." (Id. at ¶ 3). While in kindergarten, Plaintiff was diagnosed with gender dysphoria, a condition recognized in the fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders which, according to the Amended Complaint, "refers to clinically significant distress that can result when a person's gender identity differs from the person's sex assigned at birth." (Id. at ¶¶ 4–5). Under the care of a pediatric psychologist, Plaintiff and her family have been exploring ways for Plaintiff to express her gender identity at home, in school, and in the community. (Id. at ¶¶ 17–18).

In 2014, Plaintiff enrolled in kindergarten at the Minersville Elementary School. (Id. at ¶ 1). Minersville Elementary School is part of the Minersville Area School District, a public school district in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, that is the recipient of federal financial assistance. (Id. at ¶¶ 7, 103). Since beginning kindergarten in 2014, Plaintiff has continuously presented herself both in and out of school as a female. (Id. at ¶¶ 21–23). Plaintiff uses a female name, dresses in clothing traditionally associated with females, is addressed using female pronouns, and is known to her classmates as a female student. (Id. at ¶¶ 1, 23).

Before the start of the 2014 school year, Plaintiff's mother, Tracey Handling, requested that the school allow Plaintiff to use the girl's bathroom but was told by the district superintendent, Carl McBreen, that the school could not make such an allowance because of the privacy rights of the other students. (Id. at ¶¶ 12, 24–25). The school, however, did allow Plaintiff the option of using a unisex bathroom. (Id. at ¶ 26). Because the kindergarten classroom has a single use bathroom for use by all the students, bathroom usage was not a significant problem for Plaintiff during the 2014–2015 school year except for one incident in May of 2015. (Id. at ¶¶ 29–30, 33). While on a field trip, school staff made Plaintiff wait while all the other students used the bathroom. (Id. at ¶ 34). After the male students were finished, a teacher cleared the boy's bathroom of students and then made Plaintiff use it by herself while her classmates waited. (Id. at ¶¶ 34–35). The incident upset Plaintiff and resulted in some of her classmates asking her why she, as a girl, was using the boy's bathroom. (Id. at ¶¶ 37–38).

When Plaintiff's mother questioned the school's principal, James Yacobacci, about the incident, he informed Ms. Handling that it was school policy that a child must use the bathroom that corresponds with the sex listed on the child's birth certificate. (Id. at ¶¶ 14, 42). During the conversation, Principal Yacobacci stated that it was his "job to protect all of the students from [Plaintiff]." (Id. at ¶ 43). Despite requesting a copy of the school's bathroom policy from Superintendent McBreen and Principal Yacobacci, Plaintiff's mother was never shown a policy that would prohibit Plaintiff from using the girl's bathroom. (Id. at ¶¶ 57–58).

Before the 2015–2016 school year began, Plaintiff's mother once again requested that the school allow Plaintiff to use the girl's bathroom while at school. (Id. at ¶ 51). The school, through Superintendent McBreen, denied Plaintiff's request. (Id. at ¶ 52). Superintendent McBreen expressed that he did not believe there would be much acceptance from other parents if Plaintiff was allowed to use the girl's bathroom and added that "Minersville isn't ready for this." (Id. at ¶¶ 53–54, 56). Soon thereafter, while giving a school tour to Ms. Handling, Principal Yacobacci repeatedly referred to Plaintiff using male pronouns despite being corrected by Plaintiff's mother. (Id. at ¶ 60).

Once Plaintiff began grade school, there was no single use bathroom in her classroom, and Plaintiff began using the unisex bathroom in the school. (Id. at ¶¶ 68–69). In February of 2016, staff from the Bradbury–Sullivan LGBT Community Center provided training to the Minersville Area School District on the topic of transgender students and the requirements of Title IX with respect to bathroom use policies. (Id. at ¶¶ 63–66). In March of 2016, Principal Yacobacci told Ms. Handling that for Plaintiff to be allowed to use the girl's bathroom while on a school field trip, Ms. Handling would have to accompany Plaintiff. (Id. at ¶¶ 70–73).

On May 27, 2016, soon after the Department of Justice and the Department of Education issued a guidance document on how schools should accommodate transgender students with respect to bathrooms, Plaintiff's mother was told by Superintendent McBreen that Plaintiff would now be allowed to use the girl's bathroom. (Id. at ¶¶ 82–83). Plaintiff began using the girl's bathroom during the last week of the 2015–2016 school year. (Id. at ¶ 85). The school, however, has not created any policy on bathroom access for transgender students. (Id. at ¶¶ 84, 86).

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW

A complaint must be dismissed under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) if it does not allege "enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed. 2d 929 (2007). "A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed. 2d 868 (2009).

"While a complaint attacked by a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss does not need detailed factual allegations, a plaintiff's obligation to provide the grounds of his entitlement to relief requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do." Twombly , 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955 (internal citations, alterations, and quotations marks omitted). A court "take[s] as true all the factual allegations in the Complaint and the reasonable inferences that can be drawn from those facts, but ... disregard[s] legal conclusions and threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements." Ethypharm S.A. France v. Abbott Labs. , 707 F.3d 223, 231 n.14 (3d Cir. 2013) (internal citation, alteration, and quotation marks omitted). Thus, "the presumption of truth attaches only to those allegations for which there is sufficient ‘factual matter’ to render them ‘plausible on [their] face.’ " Schuchardt v. President of the U.S. , 839 F.3d 336, 347 (3d Cir. 2016) (alteration in original) (quoting Iqbal , 556 U.S. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937 ). "Conclusory assertions of fact and legal conclusions are not entitled to the same presumption." Id.

"Although the plausibility standard ‘does not impose a probability requirement,’ it does require a pleading to show ‘more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully.’ " Connelly v. Lane Constr. Corp. , 809 F.3d 780, 786 (3d Cir. 2016) (internal citation omitted) (first quoting Twombly , 550 U.S. at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955 ; then quoting Iqbal , 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937 ). "The plausibility determination is ‘a context-specific task that requires the reviewing court to draw on its judicial experience and common sense.’ " Id. at 786–87 (quoting Iqbal , 556 U.S. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937 ).

IV. ANALYSIS

Defendant seeks to dismiss both counts of Plaintiff's Amended Complaint. The Court will address each count separately.

A. Title IX

Defendant first moves to dismiss Plaintiff's claim under Title IX. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 provides, in part, that "[n]o person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." 20 U.S.C. § 1681(a). Consistent with Title IX, an education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance "may provide separate toilet, locker room,...