Kimberly Ann SHRUM, as Next Friend of Justin Patrick KELLY, a minor, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Michael KLUCK, Defendant. David Wade, Individually and as Superintendent of the Elwood, Nebraska, Public School District; The Elwood, Nebraska, Public School District, Defendants-Appellees.
No. 00-1874.
United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.
Submitted: Dec. 14, 2000. Filed: May 8, 2001.
249 F.3d 773
Dean J. Sitzmann, Lincoln, NE, for appellee.
Before McMILLIAN and MURPHY, Circuit Judges, and BOGUE,1 District Judge.
McMILLIAN, Circuit Judge.
Appellant Kimberly Ann Shrum, on behalf of her minor son Justin Patrick Kelly, appeals from a grant of summary judgment entered in District Court2 for the District of Nebraska in favor of defendants, holding that the Elwood, Nebraska, Public School District (“Elwood“) and its superintendent were not liable under either
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction was proper in the district court based upon
Background
Elwood employed Michael Kluck as a teacher and coach in 1992. Kluck taught 9th, 11th, and 12th grade English, 7th and 8th grade study skills, and sponsored a journalism group. In November 1992, the Gosper County Sheriff‘s Department investigated a sexual assault complaint that Kluck had allegedly touched his female students inappropriately while at school. The school administration was aware of this investigation. Based upon student interviews, the deputy determined that Kluck had made inappropriate remarks to students but found no evidence of physical contact.
In October 1993, Richard Einspahr, the school principal, tape-recorded complaints about Kluck from 16 students. Based on these statements, Einspahr sent Kluck a written reprimand on October 27, 1993, which detailed the complaints about Kluck‘s inappropriate comments and touching. The letter also expressed concern about Kluck‘s having spent time alone with several junior high boys. The reprimand warned Kluck that Einspahr would continue to investigate the charges and allegations against him, and was prepared to take further action. Kluck issued a written reply that attempted to explain some of the allegations.
In December 1993 and March 1994, Kluck received poor evaluations of his work. On March 11, 1994, after consulting
The settlement stipulated that: (1) Kluck could voluntarily resign, (2) Wade would write him a positive letter of recommendation, (3) all future references to Kluck would be consistent with the letter of recommendation, (4) Kluck‘s resignation would be categorized as “with good cause” for purposes of unemployment compensation, (5) Kluck would be allowed to remove any documentation from his employment file other than what the school district relied upon when hiring him, and (6) the terms of the settlement would remain “confidential to the extent allowed by law.” Wade distributed a memorandum to each school board member describing these conditions and recommending that they agree to them. After the school board agreed, Wade signed the settlement agreement on March 24, 1994.4
After leaving Elwood, Nebraska, Kluck applied for a teaching position for the following 1994-1995 school year in La Porte, Texas, where he submitted the letter of recommendation from Elwood. The letter stated in full:
Mr. Kluck has assisted Elwood Public Schools in a variety of activities and has been willing to help out in emergency situations. He has a good knowledge of his subject area and his coaching area. He has participated in numerous clinics.
Mr. Kluck used a variety of teaching aids and made use of library resources. Outwardly he showed an interest in his students and the varied activities of the school. He arrived at school on time and was aware of and followed school channels and procedures; phone calls, bills, and invoices were handled properly.
Mr. Kluck was responsible for Senior, Junior, and Freshman English, Junior High Study Skills, Journalism and yearbook sponsor. In addition he was head boys basketball and golf coach.
During the interview process, the La Porte school superintendent called Wade twice to ask about Kluck‘s teaching record at Elwood, but never actually spoke with Wade. The La Porte school district hired Kluck as a coach and teacher at La Porte Junior High for the 1994-1995 school year. The La Porte school district claims that it would not have hired Kluck if it had known about his prior misconduct in Elwood.
In November 1994, Kluck sexually molested Shrum‘s son, Kelly, one of Kluck‘s thirteen-year-old junior high students in La Porte, Texas. On September 14, 1995, Kluck pled guilty in Texas to the crime of Indecency with a Child. Shrum, on behalf of her son, filed suit against Elwood and
Discussion
I. Standard of Review
We review the district court‘s grant of summary judgment de novo to determine whether there is a “genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.”
II. § 1983 Claim
Shrum contends that the district court erred in dismissing her
In order to incur
However, Shrum must also “show that the alleged deprivation was committed by a person acting under color of state law.” West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 48, 108 S.Ct. 2250, 101 L.Ed.2d 40 (1988). Shrum asserts that Elwood, as a state actor, was responsible for her son‘s constitutional deprivation because Elwood enabled Kluck to continue his teaching career at another school despite his sexual misconduct with students during his employment at Elwood. A school district may be accountable for the unconstitutional acts of its employees if a constitutional deprivation results from either (1) implementation or execution of an unconstitutional policy or custom by school officials or employees, see Johnson v. Outboard Marine Corp., 172 F.3d 531, 535-36 (8th Cir. 1999), or (2) in the event of a substantive due process violation, an executive action by a school official. See Lewis, 523 U.S. 833, 118 S.Ct. 1708, 140 L.Ed.2d 1043.
As a result, Shrum may be able to satisfy this essential element of her
A. § 1983 Liability Resulting From a Policy or Custom
Shrum claims that there are genuine issues of material fact regarding whether Elwood (1) possessed the requisite culpability, and (2) caused the constitutional violation directly enough to incur
In Lewis, 523 U.S. at 846, the Supreme Court distinguished the different criteria used to establish
However, in some circumstances, official policy that is deliberately indifferent to unconstitutional conduct may satisfy the “shocks the conscience” standard required by Lewis. 523 U.S. at 850 n. 10 (“[w]e have also employed deliberate indifference as a standard of culpability sufficient to identify a dereliction as reflective of municipal policy and to sustain a claim of municipal liability for ... harm by unconstitutional conduct for which [an employee] would be individually liable“) (citing City of Canton v. Harris, 489 U.S. at 388-89). We therefore must consider whether Elwood‘s official decision to enter into the confidential settlement agreement with Kluck is a policy that is so deliberately indifferent to a predictable constitutional violation that it shocks the conscience.
We have defined policy as “an official policy, a deliberate choice or a guiding principle or procedure made by an official with authority,” and custom as a “persistent, widespread pattern of unconstitutional conduct of which officials have notice and subsequently react with deliberate indifference or tacit authorization.” Johnson v. Outboard Marine Corp., 172 F.3d at 536; See Mettler v. Whitledge, 165 F.3d 1197, 1204 (8th Cir. 1999) (Mettler). While “a single incident normally does not suffice to prove the existence of a [school district‘s] custom,” Mettler, 165 F.3d at 1205, “[a school district‘s] liability may be imposed for a single decision by [school] policymakers under appropriate circumstances,” Pembaur, 475 U.S. at 480, because “even a single decision by such a body unquestionably constitutes an act of official government policy.” Id.
If Elwood instituted a policy or custom which deprived Kelly of his constitutional right, then Shrum must illustrate that “the [school district‘s] action was taken with deliberate indifference as to its known or obvious consequences.” Brown, 520 U.S. at 398. In addition, Shrum must show a direct causal link, indicating that the policy or custom is “the moving force [behind] the constitutional violation,” Mettler, 165 F.3d at 1204 (citing Monell v. Dep‘t of Social Servs., 436 U.S. 658, 694, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978)). Be-
In the present case, Elwood‘s actions—entering into a confidential settlement agreement with Kluck rather than terminating him outright, and providing him with a neutral letter of recommendation—do not rise to the level of deliberate indifference. First, it is undisputed that Elwood did not have any actual knowledge of the extent of Kluck‘s misconduct; it was aware of rumors, investigations, and student statements, but did not possess any conclusive proof that Kluck actually molested students while employed at Elwood. Furthermore, we do not find any genuine issue of material fact regarding whether, at the time of the settlement agreement, Elwood knew that another school district would subsequently hire Kluck or that he would molest a student there. We agree with the district court that Kluck‘s subsequent sexual misconduct was not so obvious a consequence as to impute
We also disagree with Shrum that the “generally positive letter of recommendation” demonstrates recklessness. On the contrary, we agree with the district court that the letter of recommendation does not raise an issue of material fact because it was neutral in tone, and a reasonable person reading that letter might “read between the lines” and realize that it did not unreservedly endorse Kluck as a teacher. In any event, as a matter of law, the letter of recommendation is not enough to provide the necessary causal link between Elwood‘s action and Kelly‘s molestation. See Doe v. Wright, 82 F.3d at 269 (letter of recommendation too attenuated to state an actionable
We therefore agree with the district court that Shrum failed to prove the essential elements of her
B. § 1983 Liability Resulting From a State-Created Danger
Because Shrum failed to establish any genuine issues of material fact to indicate that Elwood was either culpable for or the cause of her son‘s constitutional violation, there is no other legitimate basis for her allegation that Kluck acted under color of state law for purposes of Elwood‘s
This court has recognized two exceptions to the state‘s exemption from protecting its citizens from the deeds of private actors: (1) in custodial settings, where the state itself has limited the individuals’ ability to care for themselves, and (2) when the state is responsible for placing an individual in a position of danger which otherwise would not exist. Doe v. Wright, 82 F.3d at 268 (quoting Gregory v. City of Rogers, 974 F.2d 1006, 1010 (8th Cir. 1992)). Shrum argues that there is an outstanding issue of material fact regarding whether Elwood created the danger which led to Kelly‘s molestation. However, school districts are not susceptible to this state-created danger theory of
Because Elwood‘s actions do not “shock the conscience” and the state-created danger exception does not apply, we conclude that Elwood was entitled to judgment as a matter of law and we affirm the district court‘s order granting summary judgment in favor of Elwood on Shrum‘s
III. Title IX Claim
Shrum argues that the district court erred in granting summary judgment on the basis that, because Elwood did not exercise substantial control over Kluck or the student at the time of the molestation, her claim against Elwood was not actionable under Title IX. Shrum contends that the district court construed the language of Title IX too narrowly by limiting the scope of Elwood‘s “control” to either control over the physical grounds of the school district or control over an abuser who is employed by the school district at the time of the abuse. Instead, Shrum characterizes Elwood‘s “control” as its ability to control information about Kluck and to provide him with the opportunity to molest a child. We disagree.
Title IX provides that “[n]o person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
For a school district to incur liability under Title IX, it must be (1) deliberately indifferent (2) to known acts of discrimination (3) which occur under its control. See id.; Davis, 526 U.S. at 642. The underlying philosophy is that “[a] recipient cannot be directly liable for its indifference where it lacks the authority to take remedial action.” Davis, 526 U.S. at 644. While sexual harassment or sexual abuse clearly constitutes discrimination under Title IX, Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public Schools, 503 U.S. 60, 75, 112 S.Ct. 1028, 117 L.Ed.2d 208 (1992), a school district will only be liable for situations in which it “exercises substantial control over both the harasser and the context in which the known harassment occurs.” Davis, 526 U.S. at 645. Specifically, the school district‘s deliberate indifference must either directly cause the abuse to occur or make students vulnerable to such abuse, and that abuse “must take place in a context subject to the school district‘s control.” Id.
Shrum argues that there are genuine issues of material fact regarding Elwood‘s “control” over Kluck‘s subsequent misconduct because Elwood had actual knowledge of Kluck‘s sexual misconduct at Elwood, and acted with deliberate indifference by aiding Kluck in obtaining another job. Shrum contends that Elwood, as the only entity who was able to control Kluck‘s opportunities to molest other children by controlling the information available to other school districts, possessed enough control over the abuser and the environment of the abuse to incur Title IX liability. We agree with the district court that there was no genuine issue of material fact indicating that Elwood exercised “substantial control” over either Kluck or Kelly at the time of the sexual abuse. Therefore, as a matter of law, Elwood could not be liable for discrimination under Title IX.
The record reflects that (1) Elwood did not have actual knowledge of Kluck‘s sexual misconduct because the police and the school investigations were inconclusive, (2) Elwood did not directly cause the abuse to occur, nor did it directly make its students or Kelly vulnerable to the abuse, and (3) Elwood did not control the environment where the harassment occurred. As a result, at the time of Kelly‘s molestation, Elwood had no control over Kluck‘s actions or the school environment in which he acted. Elwood‘s previous actions, including any alleged cover-up of Kluck‘s sexual misconduct, are insufficient to create a direct link between the abuse and Elwood‘s scope of control.
We therefore agree with the district court that there are no outstanding issues of fact, as Elwood did not possess sufficient control over Kluck, Kelly, and the place of the abuse to incur Title IX liability. As a result, we affirm the district court‘s decision that Elwood was entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law.
Accordingly, the judgment of the district court is affirmed.
