P.P. v. Compton Unified Sch. Dist.

135 F.Supp.3d 1098

P.P., et al.

v.Compton Unified School District, et al.

Case No. CV 15–3726–MWF (PLAx)

United States District Court, C.D. California.

Signed September 29, 2015

Anne Hudson–Price, Kathryn Ann Eidmann, Laura L. Faer, Mark D. Rosenbaum, Michael H. Strub, Jr., Morgan Chu, Alisa Louise Hartz, Sara Adina Stohl, Los Angeles, CA, for Plaintiff

David Michael Huff, Jeremy Ehrlich, Niv Vladimir Davidovich, Orbach Huff Suarez and Henderson LLP, Los Angeles, CA Kimble R. Cook, Orbach Huff Suarez and Henderson LLP, Oakland, CA, for Defendant

Proceedings (In Chambers): ORDER DENYING DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO DISMISS PLAINTIFFS' CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 12(b)(6) [41]

Present: The Honorable MICHAEL W. FITZGERALD, U.S. District Judge

Before the Court is Defendants' Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Class Action Complaint Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) (the "Motion"). (Docket No. 41). The Court has read and considered the papers filed on the Motion, and held a hearing on August 20, 2015. As set forth below, the Motion is DENIED.

By way of summary, the Court perceives the central issue here to be the interplay of, on the one hand, the definition of a cognizable disability for purposes of Title II of the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and, on the other, the manner in which the effects of exposure to trauma may manifest themselves, as alleged in the Complaint. Clearly, the Court is not making a final decision as to how the merits of this action will be resolved, nor does it make any decisions as to whether any particular student actually suffers from a cognizable disability for purposes of the Rehabilitation Act or the ADA. The Court does not endorse the legal position that exposure to two or more traumatic events is, without more, a cognizable disability under either of the Acts. The Court simply acknowledges the allegations that exposure to traumatic events might cause physical or mental impairments that could be cognizable as disabilities under the two Acts. In other words, the Court has determined that, for purposes of surviving a motion to dismiss, the allegations in the Complaint suffice for now.

I. BACKGROUND

On May 18, 2015, students Peter P. (by Carolina Melendrez, guardian ad litem), Kimberly Cervantes, Phillip W. (by Beatrice W., guardian ad litem), Virgil W. (by Beatrice W., guardian ad litem), Donte J. (by Lavinia J., guardian ad litem) (the "Student Plaintiffs"), on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, along with teachers Rodney Curry, Armando Castro, II, and Maureen McCoy (the "Teacher Plaintiffs") (collectively, "Plaintiffs") initiated the present suit by filing a Complaint. (Docket No. 1).

Plaintiff Peter P. is seventeen years old, resides within the boundaries of CUSD and Dominguez High School, and attends Dominguez High School. (Compl. ¶ 40). Plaintiff Kimberly Cervantes is eighteen years old, resides within the boundaries of CUSD and Dominguez High School, and attends Cesar Chavez Continuation School. (Id. ¶ 41). Plaintiff Phillip W. is fifteen years old, resides within the boundaries of CUSD and Compton High School, "is currently in expulsion procedures from Dominguez High School," and attends school at "Team Builders, an alternative school in CUSD." (Id. ¶ 42). Plaintiff Virgil W.—Phillip W.'s twin brother—is fifteen years old, resides within the boundaries of CUSD and Compton High School, and attends Dominguez High School. (Id. ¶ 43). Plaintiff Donte J. is thirteen years old, resides within the boundaries of CUSD and Whaley Middle School, and attends Whaley Middle School. (Id. ¶ 44).

"Plaintiff Rodney Curry is a teacher at Dominguez High School in CUSD." (Id. ¶ 45). "Plaintiff Armando Castro II is a teacher at Cesar Chavez Continuation School in CUSD." (Id. ¶ 46). "Plaintiff Maureen McCoy is a teacher at Centennial High School in CUSD." (Id. ¶ 47).

Defendants in this action are the Compton Unified School District ("CUSD"), as well as Darin Brawley (in his official capacity as Superintendent of the Compton Unified School District), and Micah Ali, Satra Zurita, Margie Garrett, Charles Davis, Skyy Fisher, Emma Sharif, and Mae Thomas in their official capacities as members of the Board of Trustees of the Compton Unified School District (the "Individual Defendants") (collectively, "Defendants").

The Student Plaintiffs represent a putative class of current and future students in CUSD. (Compl. ¶ 55). "Defendant CUSD operates schools in the south central region of Los Angeles County and encompasses the city of Compton and portions of the cities of Carson and Los Angeles." (Id. ¶ 48). "Compton is among the most socioeconomically distressed cities in Southern California, and it experiences attendant high rates of violent crime." (Id. ¶ 74). The Complaint notes that "[d]ecades of research have proven that children who grow up in high-poverty neighborhoods characterized by minimal investment in schools, quality housing, after-school programs, parks, and other community resources are disproportionately likely to be exposed to trauma and complex trauma." (Id. ¶ 1 (footnote omitted)).

"Trauma," as described in the Complaint, "stems from such causes as exposure to violence and loss, family disruptions related to deportation, incarceration and/or the foster system, systemic racism and discrimination, and the extreme stress of lacking basic necessities, such as not knowing where the next meal will come from or where to sleep that night." (Id. ¶ 1). Similarly, "[c]omplex trauma stems from the exposure to multiple persistent sources of violence, loss, and other adverse childhood experiences (‘ACEs'), and describes children's exposure to these events and the impact of this exposure." (Id. (footnote omitted)).

The Student Plaintiffs and class members are alleged to "have experienced and continue to experience traumatic events that profoundly affect their psychological, emotional, and physical well-being." (See id. ¶¶ 14–35, 73, 75–76). For example, the Complaint alleges that the following are "[r]epresentative examples of the traumatic incidents of violence that [Student] Plaintiffs have experienced or witnessed":

• Plaintiff Peter P. was repeatedly physically and sexually abused by his mother's boyfriends and witnessed physical abuse of his siblings and mother.

• Plaintiff Peter P. reports that he watched as his best friend was shot and killed.

• Plaintiff Peter P. was stabbed with a knife while trying to protect a friend.

• Plaintiff Peter P. reports that he has witnessed over twenty people being shot.

• Plaintiff Kimberly Cervantes was sexually assaulted on the bus on her way home from school.

• Plaintiff Phillip W. estimates that he has witnessed more than twenty people being shot, one of whom was a close friend who died when shot in the head.

• Plaintiff Virgil W. witnessed his father pointing a gun at his mother.

• A stranger attempted to stab Plaintiff Donte J. and his friends when they were standing in front of the Whaley Middle School campus.

• Plaintiff Donte J. was arrested by police at gunpoint on school campus when he was mistaken for someone else.

• Plaintiff Donte J. was attacked by four people on his way to school.

(Id. ¶ 76). Other sources of trauma include: the death of or separation from a loved one (see id. ¶¶ 85–90); placement of children in the foster system (see id. ¶¶ 91–94); extreme poverty, homelessness, and other socioeconomic hardship (see id. ¶¶ 95–97); and discrimination and racism (see id. ¶¶ 98–105).

Peter P., for example, was initially separated from his siblings when he was placed in the foster system, has "moved in and out of a series of foster homes," has two older brothers and a prior caretaker who are currently incarcerated, and "spent two months of homelessness sleeping on the roof of his high school cafeteria." (Id. ¶¶ 14–18, 97). Similarly, Kimberly Cervantes has "experienced multiple incidents of racism," got into an altercation with a security guard at Dominguez High School while returning a book to the library, witnessed the deaths of two students, and informed a fellow student that she identified as bisexual only to have her teacher say in front of her class that Cervantes "shouldn't be gay" and that it was "wrong." (Id. ¶¶ 22–23). Phillip W. "has experienced the deaths of two close friends—one of whom he witnessed get shot in the head last September," and "lost a close family member to cancer." (Id. ¶ 28). Virgil W. "also recently experienced the death of a close friend and a cousin, and nearly lost another close friend and cousin." (Id. ¶ 89). Finally, Donte J. has experienced gang-related violence, despite his "lack of involvement with any gang," and was approached by an assailant with a knife who threatened to stab him. (Id. ¶ 35).

The Complaint alleges that the neurobiological effects of the complex trauma to which Student Plaintiffs have been subjected impair the ability to perform activities essential to education—including, but not limited to, learning, thinking, reading, and concentrating—and thus constitute a disability under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act ("Section 504") and the Americans With Disabilities Act ("ADA"). (See id. ¶¶ 2, 4, 54–66, 71). The Complaint details the body's response to trauma, including how trauma affects the brain. (See, e.g., Compl. ¶¶ 107–22).

In this vein, Peter P. states that, as a result of the "repeated and sustained trauma" he has experienced, "he often experiences uncontrollable anger, as well as "deep sadness and depression." (Id. ¶ 19). Peter P. "previously had shown an ability to achieve high grades in certain honors classes," but the Complaint alleges that the "complex trauma in his life has at times caused his grades to decline sharply." (Id. ¶ 20). "Over the course of his academic career, [Peter P.] has been repeatedly suspended for disobedient, angry, or aggressive behavior, and has been involuntarily transferred (or ‘expelled’)" from a number of CUSD schools. (Id. ). Similarly,...