Opinion ID: 1649667
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Alternative Modes of Transportation

Text: In its reasons for judgment, the trial court factually concluded that [t]he evidence is overwhelming that transportation was available through bus service. The majority finding liability below, as do the plaintiffs here, maintain that, because C.C. could not ride the tutoring student bus, the School Board failed to provide transportation and breached its duty to do so. There is no evidence, as the trial court found, that C.C. was informed she could use the after hours bus even though she was a Behavior Clinic student; indeed, it is clear that she was informed she could not do so. However, we agree with the trial court that other modes of transportation were available to C.C., but that she failed to avail herself of them, and had no intention of doing so. Although everyone can agree that Lafayette Middle School's policy concerning the use of the tutoring bus was not only confusing, as the trial court noted, but also ill conceived, as the dissent below suggested, we do not find the School Board breached its duty of supervision to C.C. under these circumstances. The record clearly establishes the school had in place a policy or practice to ensure that no child would have been left at the school had C.C. remained at the school rather than accompany S.R.C. to the fast food restaurant and walk home thereafter. Ms. Billedeaux, who had devised the bus use policy, claimed it was put in place to guarantee the tutoring students a ride home, but not to totally deny the Behavior Clinic participants a ride. She testified that, after all tutoring students were accommodated, the remaining space on the bus was provided to the Behavior Clinic students. However, she acknowledged that the policy was not articulated to the students in that fashion, and that an announcement was made to the effect that Behavior Clinic students were not allowed to ride the bus. In language often quoted by the plaintiffs, Ms. Billedeaux indicated that part of the intent of the stated policy was to make it plain to the Behavior Clinic students that she was not obligated to find them the luxury of a free ride home and, thus, transportation difficulties would be a part of their punishment for breaking the rules. There was, however, other testimony regarding the school's policy that no child was left behind or denied assistance in getting home. Ms. Reed testified that any transportation problem would always be addressed, and that she had driven children home in the past. Additionally, she made it clear that a teacher is always present until every student has left the campus. Mr. Ferrill testified that he had helped children find transportation in the past, and had driven some home as well. Ms. McGee was not even aware of the problem with the tutoring bus and made it clear that children would be accommodated. Ms. Billedeaux, too, testified she personally had taken children home. Mr. Pollan confirmed the testimony of the other teachers, and both he and Ms. Billedeaux testified that, because C.C. was a regular tutoring student she had the right to ride the tutoring student bus even though she was attending the Behavior Clinic rather than tutoring class on November 4, 2004. According to Mr. Pollan, a student is never left stranded on campus. The testimony of Peter A. Arceneaux, the driver of the tutoring bus, supported the stated school policy that, when space is available, no Behavior Clinic student would be denied a ride on his bus. According to Mr. Arceneaux, the only thing the school wished to do with its stated denial policy was to require the Behavior Clinic students to attempt to contact their parents first. If that failed, the bus was available. Mr. Arceneaux testified that space was available on November 4, 2004. As the trial court found, the testimony of S.R.C. established there was a city bus stop directly in front of the school. She was familiar with this fact because she normally caught the public bus at that stop after school. Additionally, although C.C. claimed in her testimony to have no money, Mr. Pollan testified that, in support of the school policy that no child would be left on campus, the office or one of the teachers would have provided her with money to take the public transportation offered. The evidence is also clear that C.C.'s true intent was to walk home rather than seek out alternatives. Even after she left the campus, C.C. had access to public transportation. C.C. testified that when she left campus with S.R.C., she knew that S.R.C. had only fifty cents, and that amount was required for her ride home. Yet, C.C. also testified that when they arrived at the restaurant, S.R.C. purchased food and yet still had fifty cents to ride the bus. However, S.R.C. did not support C.C.'s testimony on her lack of money. S.R.C. testified that, not only did she have adequate money to purchase food at the restaurant and ride the public bus, she had enough to loan C.C. the bus fare and offered to do so. According to S.R.C., C.C. responded that she wanted to wait at the restaurant. S.R.C. said she did not know what C.C. was waiting for. This evidence, therefore, supports the trial court's factual findings that other modes of transportation were available to C.C., that she had no intent to ride the tutoring bus, and, lastly, that the School Board did not fail to provide her with adequate and reasonable supervision. Ultimately, we find no manifest error in the trial court's conclusion that the School Board did not breach its duty of reasonable supervision owed to C.C. We disagree that the School Board's employees made an exceedingly bad departure decision under the facts of this case. Here, the school had in place a policy or practice to make certain that no student would be left on campus. As the trial court found, a telephone was made available to Behavior Clinic students and alternative means of traveling home would have been made available to C.C. had she asked for assistance. Instead, she chose to leave the school grounds rather than telephone her mother or indicate to school personnel in any manner that she had no way to get home. The instant case is factually distinguishable from D.C. v. St. Landry Parish School Bd . There, the twelve-year-old seventh grade student had been instructed by the vice-principal to change into clothing that did not violate the school dress code on skirt length. She was allowed to use the school telephone to call home, but her brother, the only person there, had no transportation with which to bring her different clothes. Believing the matter to be disciplinary and outside of her concern, the school secretary allowed the student to check herself out of school during school hours, without authority from the principal or vice-principal, in violation of the school's own policy prohibiting such a departure. The student was molested while walking home from school. In finding a breach of the school board's duty, the court reasoned that, included within the duty of reasonable supervision is the duty to make the appropriate supervisory decisions concerning a student's departure from campus during regular school hours. 00-1304, p. 6, 802 So.2d at 23. The court concluded the school board breached its duty by violating its own policy with regard to a student's departure from campus. Id. Instead, this case is more similar to that in Domingue v. Lafayette Parish School Bd . There, an eleven-year-old middle school student decided to walk home with a friend rather than ride the bus as he had been instructed to do by his mother. He had been punished by his mother on prior occasions for walking home. En route to their neighborhood, which was slightly more than a mile from the school, the student was struck by a vehicle on a busy four-lane highway. The appellate court found no breach of the school board's duty of reasonable supervision. Domingue, 03-895, 879 So.2d at 294-95. The appellate court found the trial court had erred in imposing a duty on the school board to institute a procedure to distinguish students who were allowed to walk home from school and those who were not. Id. The court reasoned that, even if such procedures were in place, there is nothing to prevent a designated walker from being injured on his way home should he dart out in the street, nor could the school prevent a junior high age student from disobeying the instructions of his mother. Id. at 295. The court refused to impose the requirement of a roll-call of every student exiting the school. Id. The court concluded the school board did not breach its duty to ensure the orderly and non-violent flow of children to the appropriate area of departure. Id. at 296.