Estate of Barnwell Ex Rel. Barnwell v. Watson
880 F.3d 998
8th Cir.2018Background
- Chandler Barnwell, a teenager diagnosed with Asperger’s and other disorders, was enrolled at Parkview High School in the Little Rock Independent School District in 2010 and had a history of social difficulties and some disciplinary incidents.
- School staff met multiple times with Chandler and his mother about tardies and social-skills supports; an educational management team approved early dismissal from class to ease hallway conflicts and placed him in a higher-functioning pragmatics (social skills) group.
- Before his death, Chandler had a classroom altercation on October 7 (both students suspended one day) and a December 7 classroom incident in which another student allegedly told him to "go home and kill yourself;" Chandler died by suicide that evening.
- After his death, additional student reports suggested he had been mocked at school and online; the Barnwells allege the District and Principal Booth failed to investigate and later tried to suppress discussion of bullying.
- The Barnwells sued the superintendent in her official capacity under § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, claiming disability-based discrimination for failing to protect Chandler from student-on-student harassment and for inadequate post-death investigation/response; the district court granted summary judgment for the superintendent.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the District violated § 504 by failing to protect Chandler from student-on-student harassment | Barnwell: school knew or should have known of bullying and therefore discriminated by failing to act | Superintendent: District lacked specific knowledge of pervasive, severe harassment; it took reasonable steps when informed | Court: No § 504 violation; record lacks evidence District knew of actionable harassment and responses were not grossly unreasonable |
| Proper legal standard for student-on-student § 504 claims | Barnwell: apply Title IX deliberate-indifference standard (Davis) | Superintendent: traditional § 504 standard (bad faith or gross misjudgment) applies | Court: Need not choose; even under Davis deliberate-indifference standard evidence here fails to show severe, pervasive harassment or clearly unreasonable response |
| Sufficiency of evidence to fend off summary judgment | Barnwell: post-death reports and alleged witness discrediting create triable issues | Superintendent: movant showed lack of evidence on essential elements; Barnwells must produce affirmative evidence | Court: Barnwells failed to produce affirmative evidence of knowledge, deliberate indifference, or bad faith/gross misjudgment; summary judgment affirmed |
| Whether post-death investigation/response can constitute a § 504 violation | Barnwell: Booth’s alleged cover-up and insensitive post-death actions evidence continuing discrimination | Superintendent: post-death conduct does not state a § 504 claim on behalf of a deceased student | Court: Post-death allegations do not state a cognizable § 504 claim; cannot be the basis for relief under the Rehabilitation Act |
Key Cases Cited
- Davis v. Monroe Cnty. Bd. of Educ., 526 U.S. 629 (1999) (Title IX deliberate-indifference standard for student-on-student harassment)
- M.Y. v. Special Sch. Dist. No. 1, 544 F.3d 885 (8th Cir. 2008) (§ 504 claims require showing of bad faith or gross misjudgment in educational context)
- B.M. v. S. Callaway R-II Sch. Dist., 732 F.3d 882 (8th Cir. 2013) (§ 504 does not create general tort liability for educational malpractice)
- Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317 (1986) (summary judgment burden rules; nonmovant must produce affirmative evidence)
- Blake v. MJ Optical, Inc., 870 F.3d 820 (8th Cir. 2017) (standard of review for summary judgment and viewing evidence in nonmovant's favor)