Lebron v. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 770 F.3d 25

Background

Child diagnosed with Asperger’s (disability); parents registered him with Puerto Rico DOE in 2008 and an IEP was prepared.
Parents instead enrolled the child in a private school (Colegio) that initially agreed to accommodations; disputes arose (including about lunch/dietary accommodations) and parents alleged Colegio discriminated against the child.
Parents sought to file an administrative complaint with the DOE; DOE supervisor told them she could not act because Colegio was a private school.
Parents sued the Commonwealth/DOE and Colegio defendants in federal court asserting IDEA, ADA, Rehabilitation Act, § 1983, § 1981, Title VI, § 1988, and various Puerto Rico statutory/tort claims, seeking monetary and other relief.
District court dismissed all claims against the Commonwealth (holding IDEA barred other claims and that Eleventh Amendment barred state-law claims); parents withdrew their IDEA claim and appealed.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether ADA/Rehabilitation Act discrimination claims against Commonwealth were sufficiently pleaded	Commonwealth failed to respond to complaints about Colegio; DOE should have supervised or acted because Colegio received public funds	IDEA governs and prevents plaintiffs from using other statutes to circumvent IDEA; pled facts do not show Commonwealth intentionally discriminated	Dismissed — plaintiffs failed to plead facts showing intentional discrimination by Commonwealth
Whether ADA/Rehabilitation Act retaliation claims were adequately pleaded	DOE’s refusal to file administrative complaint was retaliatory after parents complained about Colegio	No facts plausibly connect DOE’s refusal to retaliatory intent rather than belief it lacked authority over private school	Dismissed — no plausible causal inference of retaliatory intent
Whether § 1983 claim survives given dismissal of federal discrimination/retaliation claims	§ 1983 asserted for constitutional violations arising from disability discrimination/retaliation	§ 1983 depends on underlying valid discrimination/retaliation claims	Dismissed — § 1983 predicated on failed federal claims
Whether Eleventh Amendment bars parents’ Puerto Rico state-law claims (waiver by accepting federal funds)	Commonwealth waived sovereign immunity by accepting federal funds for disabled-student programs	Acceptance of federal funds leads to waiver for specific federal statutes (IDEA, Rehabilitation Act) but not a general waiver for state-law claims in federal court	Dismissed — sovereign immunity bars state-law claims in federal court; no waiver shown

Key Cases Cited

Woods v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 733 F.3d 349 (review standard for 12(b)(6) dismissal) (1st Cir. 2013)
Ocasio-Hernández v. Fortuño-Burset, 640 F.3d 1 (pleading standards; reject conclusory allegations) (1st Cir. 2011)
Frazier v. Fairhaven Sch. Comm., 276 F.3d 52 (IDEA is a comprehensive statutory scheme ensuring FAPE) (1st Cir. 2002)
Díaz-Fonseca v. Puerto Rico, 451 F.3d 13 (Eleventh Amendment and waiver analysis re: Puerto Rico accepting federal funds) (1st Cir. 2006)
M.M.R.-Z. ex rel. Ramírez-Senda v. Puerto Rico, 528 F.3d 9 (IDEA §1415(l) does not bar other federal claims that do not turn entirely on IDEA rights) (1st Cir. 2008)
D.B. ex rel. Elizabeth B. v. Esposito, 675 F.3d 26 (overlap between IDEA and Rehabilitation Act/ADA claims; retaliation framework) (1st Cir. 2012)
Parker v. Universidad de Puerto Rico, 225 F.3d 1 (intentional discrimination standard under Rehabilitation Act/ADA) (1st Cir. 2000)
Lesley v. Hee Man Chie, 250 F.3d 47 (intentional discrimination pleading requirements) (1st Cir. 2001)
United States v. Mathur, 624 F.3d 498 (court will not develop underdeveloped arguments for litigants) (1st Cir. 2010)
Colón Cabrera v. Esso Standard Oil Co., 723 F.3d 82 (standards for abuse of discretion on reconsideration) (1st Cir. 2013)
Tell v. Trs. of Dartmouth Coll., 145 F.3d 417 (leave to amend and reconsideration principles) (1st Cir. 1998)