Court Opinion

ID: 9401903
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-06-14 17:00:29.283353+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:19:56.085236
License: Public Domain

PRECEDENTIAL

        UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
             FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
                 _____________

                       No. 22-1648
                     _____________

 RESPONSIBLE ADULT Q.T., on behalf of minor plaintiff
H.P.-B.; GUARDIAN E.E., on behalf of minor plaintiff H.P.-
 B.; NATURAL FATHER F.P., on behalf of minor plaintiff,
                      H.P.-B.
                                         Appellants

                            v.

          POTTSGROVE SCHOOL DISTRICT
                 ______________

      On Appeal from the United States District Court
          for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
           (D.C. Civ. Action No. 2:20-cv-04450)
       District Judge: Honorable C. Darnell Jones, II
                     ______________

                 Argued March 20, 2023
                    ______________

   Before: JORDAN, GREENAWAY, JR., and MCKEE,
                   Circuit Judges.

              (Opinion Filed: June 14, 2023)
Brian S. Wolfman, Esq.
Georgetown University Law Center
600 New Jersey Avenue NW
Suite 312
Washington, DC 20001

Alan L. Yatvin, Esq. [ARGUED]
Weir Greenblatt Pierce
1339 Chestnut Street
The Widener Building, Suite 500
Philadelphia, PA 19107

      Counsel for Appellant

Rose E. McHugh, Esq.
Mark C. Walz, Esq. [ARGUED]
Sweet Stevens Katz & Williams
331 E Butler Avenue
P.O. Box 5069
New Britain, PA 18901

      Counsel for Appellee

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                        _____________

                  OPINION OF THE COURT
                      ______________

 GREENAWAY, JR., Circuit Judge.

         Q.T., E.E., and F.P. appeal from the District Court’s
 order granting the Pottsgrove School District’s (“Pottsgrove”)
 Motion for Judgment on the Administrative Record, in an
 action brought under the Individuals with Disabilities
 Education Act (“IDEA”). Appellants argue that the District
 Court erred by holding that Q.T. does not qualify as H.P.-B.’s
 parent for purposes of the IDEA, and thus that Q.T. is unable
 to file a due process complaint on H.P.-B.’s behalf. We agree.
 For the following reasons, we will reverse and remand for
 proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I. BACKGROUND
  a.   The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

        In 1975, Congress passed the Education for All
 Handicapped Children Act—now known as the Individuals
 with Disabilities Education Act. The IDEA provides federal
 funding for special-education programs in state schools for
 students with disabilities. 20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(3)(A). The
 IDEA requires that “state[s] receiving federal educational
 funding must provide children within that state a ‘free
 appropriate public education’ (FAPE).” C.H. v. Cape
 Henlopen Sch. Dist., 606 F.3d 59, 65 (3d Cir. 2010) (quoting
 20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(1)(A). Further, “[a] State covered by the
 IDEA must provide a disabled child with such special
 education and related services ‘in conformity with the [child’s]

                                3
individualized education program,’ or IEP.” Endrew F. ex rel.
Joseph F. v Douglas Cnty. Sch. Dist., 580 U.S. 386, 390-91
(2017) (alteration in original) (quoting 20 U.S.C. §
1401(9)(D)).

       There are congressionally mandated administrative
procedural safeguards to resolve disagreements between
parents and school districts over the proper IEP for a child or
other FAPE-related disputes. Sch. Comm. of Burlington v.
Dep’t of Educ., 471 U.S. 359, 368–69 (1985). Once employed,
these mechanisms conclude in a due process hearing before a
local hearing officer who determines whether a school district
has met the IDEA’s requirements.           See 20 U.S.C. §
1415(f)(3)(E)(i).

b.     Facts

       Student H.P.-B. resides with her adult cousin Q.T.
within the geographical boundaries of Pottsgrove. H.P.-B.
enrolled in Pottsgrove during the 2014–2015 school year. Q.T.
does not have legal custody of H.P-B—an August 2008 order
grants primary physical and legal custody to H.P.-B.’s
grandmother, E.E., a resident of the School District of
Philadelphia. The order does not prejudice the rights of H.P.-
B.’s biological parents, including her father, F.P., who lives
within the geographical boundaries of the neighboring
Pottstown School District.

       While not having legal custody of H.P.-B., Q.T. makes
educational decisions on behalf of H.P.-B. In 2018, Q.T.
requested that Pottsgrove conduct a disability evaluation for
H.P.-B. Q.T. asserts that neither E.E. nor F.P. participated in
this process. Following Q.T.’s consent to a “Permission to
Evaluate” (“PTE”), Pottsgrove conducted the evaluation.

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Pottsgrove determined that H.P.-B. did not have a disability
and was ineligible for services under the IDEA.

       Q.T. then requested an Independent Educational
Evaluation (“IEE”), which Pottsgrove approved, issuing a
Section 504 Annual Notice Letter for Permission to Evaluate
in March 2019. The IEE was completed in August 2019. The
evaluator found that H.P.-B. appeared to qualify for special
education and related services as a student with an “Other
Health Impairment.” Pottsgrove issued Q.T. a new PTE in
September 2019, and another evaluation was issued in
December 2019. The Evaluation concluded that while H.P.-B.
had a disability, she was not eligible for services under the
IDEA.

       In January 2020, the District sent Q.T. an “Invitation to
Participate in Meeting” pursuant to Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973.1 In the February 2020 meeting,
Pottsgrove proposed implementing a Section 504 plan instead
of an IEP. Q.T. did not accept the proposal.

c.     Procedural History

            In March 2020, Q.T. filed an IDEA due process
complaint on H.P.-B’s behalf. Q.T. alleged that Pottsgrove
denied H.P.-B a FAPE. Q.T. claimed that Pottsgrove’s
proposed Section 504 plan would only formalize informal
accommodations that were not helping H.P.-B. Q.T. requested

1
  A Section 504 plan, arising under Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, seeks to ensure that a child with a
disability has the same access to educational services as
children without disabilities. 29 U.S.C. § 794.

                               5
that Pottsgrove provide an IEP for H.P.-B and compensatory
education to remediate the District’s alleged failures to provide
H.P.-B with a proper education. Pottsgrove moved to dismiss
the complaint. It claimed that Q.T. did not qualify as H.P.-B’s
parent under the IDEA and that, consequently, Q.T. lacked
standing to bring the complaint on H.P.-B’s behalf.2

       The Pennsylvania Due Process Hearing Officer
(“Hearing Officer”) held that Q.T. did not qualify as a “parent”
under the IDEA. The Hearing Officer made this determination
based on the court order granting E.E. physical and legal
custody of H.P.-B. and his reading of 34 C.F.R. § 300.30(b)(2).

       Following the decision of the Hearing Officer, Q.T.,
along with E.E. and F.P., sued Pottsgrove in District Court,
alleging Q.T. was H.P.-B’s parent for purposes of the IDEA.
They claimed that the Hearing Officer erred in dismissing
Q.T.’s due process complaint and that Pottsgrove was estopped
from asserting that Q.T. is not H.P.-B.’s parent because it has
long treated Q.T. as H.P.-B’s parent for educational purposes.
In the alternative, they asserted the Hearing Officer erred in
dismissing the due process complaint, rather than substituting
either E.E. or F.P. as H.P.-B.’s parent. Pottsgrove moved for
Judgment on the Administrative Record.

       The District Court granted Pottsgrove’s motion. The
District Court noted that “[t]he Hearing Officer’s decision was
based on the plain text of a federal regulation,” i.e., C.F.R. 34

2
 Pottsgrove also claimed that it was not required to provide
H.P.-B. with a FAPE as H.P.-B. did not live in the Pottsgrove
School District. This argument was rejected by the IDEA
hearing officer.

                               6
  § 300.30(b)(2). App. 3. It found that there was no dispute that
  a judicial order had granted E.E. physical custody of H.P.-B.
  After determining that the regulation was entitled to Chevron
  deference, the District Court held that a straightforward
  application of C.F.R. 34 § 300.30 (b)(2) “dictates that Q.T.
  does not qualify as H.P.-B.’s ‘parent’ for purposes of the
  IDEA.” Id.

         Q.T., E.E., and F.P. timely appealed.

II. DISCUSSION
   a.    Jurisdiction and Standard of Review

         The District Court had jurisdiction to review the
  decision of the hearing officer pursuant to 20 U.S.C. §
  1415(i)(3)(A) and 28 U.S.C. § 1331. We have jurisdiction to
  review the District Court’s final order pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §
  1291. We exercise plenary review of the District Court’s legal
  conclusions. See Lauren W. ex. rel Jean W. v. DeFlaminis, 480
  F.3d 259, 266 (3d Cir. 2007).

          In reviewing a challenge to an administrative decision
  brought under the IDEA, a district court applies a “modified de
  novo” review. P.P. ex rel. Michael P. v. W. Chester Area Sch.
  Dist., 585 F.3d 727, 734 (3d Cir. 2009). Under this standard,
  “a district court gives ‘due weight’ and deference to the
  findings in the administrative proceedings.” Id. (quoting Bd.
  of Educ. v. Rowley, 458 U.S. 176, 206 (1982)). “Factual
  findings from the administrative proceedings are to be
  considered prima facie correct,” and if the reviewing court
  does not adhere to those findings, it is ‘obliged to explain
  why.’” W. Chester, 585 F.3d at 734 (citation omitted). “We,
  in turn, review the District Court’s factual findings for clear
  error.” DeFlaminis, 480 F.3d at 266.

                                7
b.     Q.T. Qualifies as a Parent for Purposes of the IDEA

        Q.T.’s argument presents an issue of first impression in
the circuit and requires us to determine who has the authority
to act as the “parent” for purposes of the IDEA.

        To begin with, we must determine whether a Chevron
analysis is required here. We must ask whether “Congress has
directly spoken to the precise question at issue.” Chevron,
U.S.A., Inc. v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837, 842
(1984). “If we can discern congressional intent using the plain
text and traditional tools of statutory construction, our inquiry
ends: we give effect to Congress’s intent.” Cazun v. Att’y Gen.,
856 F.3d 249, 255 (3d Cir. 2017). However, if the “statute is
silent or ambiguous with respect to the specific issue,” then we
consider whether the Department of Education’s (“DOE”)
regulation embodies a “permissible construction of the
statute.” Chevron, 467 U.S. at 843.

        We begin our analysis by examining the plain text of the
statute. CSX Transp., Inc. v. Ala. Dep’t of Revenue, 562 U.S.
277, 283 (2011). The statute provides:

       The term “parent” means-

       (A) a natural, adoptive, or foster parent of a child
       (unless a foster parent is prohibited by State law
       from serving as a parent);

       (B) a guardian (but not the State if the child is a
       ward of the State);

       (C) an individual acting in the place of a natural
       or adoptive parent (including a grandparent,
       stepparent, or other relative) with whom the

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       child lives, or an individual who is legally
       responsible for the child’s welfare; or

       (D) except as used in sections 1415(b)(2) and
       1439(a)(5) of this title, an individual assigned
       under either of those sections to be a surrogate
       parent.

20 U.S.C. § 1401(23) (emphasis added).

       As both parties note, the statute defines “parent”
broadly. Q.T. certainly falls within the third definition of
parent, “an individual acting in the place of a natural or
adoptive parent . . . or other relative . . . with whom the child
lives.” 20 U.S.C. § 1401(23)(C). The text of the statute does
indicate an unambiguous congressional intent to qualify
multiple persons as parents for purposes of the IDEA.
Congress has spoken to the “precise question” at issue.
Chevron, 467 U.S. at 842.3 Thus our Chevron analysis ends
here.

3
  We recognize that Pottsgrove contends that 34 C.F.R. §
300.30(b) strips Q.T. of her statutory authority to act as H.P.-
B.’s parent. The regulation provides:

       (b)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (b)(2) of
       this section, the biological or adoptive parent,
       when attempting to act as the parent under this
       part and when more than one party is qualified
       under paragraph (a) of this section to act as a
       parent, must be presumed to be the parent for
       purposes of this section unless the biological or

                               9
       There is ample evidence in the record that Q.T. was
acting in the place of H.P.-B.’s natural parent, satisfying the
third definition of “parent.” The record shows that Q.T.
submitted sworn statements stating that H.P.-B. lived with Q.T.
during the 2016–2017 and 2017-2018 academic years. In these
sworn statements, Q.T. affirmed that she was supporting H.P.-
B., assumed all personal obligations related to school
requirements for H.P.-B., and intended to keep and support
H.P.-B. continuously, and not merely through the school year.
Q.T. receives Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program

       adoptive parent does not have legal authority to
       make educational decisions for the child.

       (2) If a judicial decree or order identifies a
       specific person or persons under paragraphs
       (a)(1) through (4) of this section to act as the
       “parent” of a child or to make educational
       decisions on behalf of a child, then such person
       or persons shall be determined to be the “parent”
       for purposes of this section.

34 C.F.R. § 300.30(b). Pottsgrove points to a judicial order
granting E.E. legal custody of H.P.-B. and argues that, under a
system of ordering, E.E. qualifies as H.P.-B.’s parent. Q.T.
contests this interpretation and argues that § 300.30(b) only
applies as “a tiebreaker when multiple qualified ‘parents’ are
competing with each other to act on behalf of the same child.”
Appellant’s Br. at 17. However, we need not resolve this
conflict as it is not the “precise question” at issue—neither E.E.
nor F.P. contest Q.T.’s authority to act as a parent for purposes
of the IDEA. Chevron, 467 U.S. at 842.

                               10
  payments on H.P.-B.’s behalf and H.P.-B. is listed on Q.T.’s
  Department of Housing and Urban Development paperwork.
  Accordingly, Q.T. qualifies as a parent for purposes of the
  IDEA as the individual with whom H.P.-B. lives and who is
  legally responsible for H.P.-B.’s welfare. See 20 U.S.C. §
  1401(23)(c).

III. CONCLUSION

         In sum, the District Court erred in finding that Q.T. did
  not qualify as H.P.-B.’s parent and thus lacked standing to file
  a due process complaint on H.P.-B.’s behalf. We will reverse
  the District Court’s decision and remand with instructions to
  vacate the hearing officer’s order dismissing Q.T.’s due
  process complaint.

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