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Class actions against Glen Mills move forward in federal court
Alex Rose
The Glen Mills Schools.
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PHILADELPHIA — Plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit alleging a culture of abuse and educational disenfranchisement at the Glen Mills Schools got a win from U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III, who denied nearly all of the defendants’ motions to dismiss last week.
Bartle, of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, granted just two of the defendants’ motions that some of the claims sounded more like alleged Eighth Amendment claims for cruel and unusual punishment than they did in Fourteenth Amendment violations for due process, and found the plaintiffs had no standing for forward-looking injunctive relief against the currently closed school.
In all other respects, however, the judge will allow the suit brought by the Juvenile Law Center, Education Law Center and Dechert LLP on behalf of four plaintiffs and their parents to move forward.
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“This is the right decision for youth,” said Kate Burdick, senior attorney at the Juvenile Law Center, in a release. “There must be a path to a remedy for the physical, emotional, and educational harm youth suffered – all of which have lifelong consequences. We look forward to moving this case forward in order to hold Glen Mills and state officials accountable.”
The suit, one of two pending class actions, also alleges claims for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and state common law.
In addition to Glen Mills Schools, the suit names Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Secretary Teresa D. Miller; former DHS Secretary Theodore Dallas; Deputy Secretary for the Office of Children, Youth and Families Cathy Utz; Secretary of Education Pedro A. Rivera; the Chester County Intermediate Unit; former Glen Mills Executive Director Randy Ireson; and several known and unknown staff members as defendants.
The 149-page lawsuit lays out numerous alleged instances of physical abuse and a complete disregard for educational programming at the school, as well as a lack of oversight at the state and local levels that allowed the alleged conditions at Glen Mills to continue.
Glen Mills School came under serious scrutiny following a Philadelphia Inquirer report in February that alleged students there suffered decades of abuse at the hands of employees.
In the months since, the 193-year-old institution has seen the departure of Ireson, as well as all of its students under an emergency order from the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. The department also revoked all 14 of the school’s licenses, and it faces investigations from Delaware County District Attorney Katayoun Copeland, Pennsylvania Auditor General Joe Eugene DePasquale and the Pennsylvania Office of the Inspector General.
The defendants challenged several aspects of the class-action lawsuit, including its length, which was described as “Dickensian.” Bartle found the suit, complex as it is, was not “vague, rambling, or incoherent,” however, and did not impede the defendants’ ability to answer its claims.
The judge also found Miller, Dallas and Utz are not entitled to immunity for their roles in the licensure, oversight and regulation of Glen Mills, noting there were at least 18 reports of abuse by staff to DHS between March 2014 and January 2017.
Rivera is likewise not immune to the plaintiffs’ claims of procedural due process and equal protection for allegedly depriving them of an education, the judge found. The plaintiffs may still have standing to pursue compensatory education and other equitable relief regardless of whether there is an ongoing violation of federal law, according to the order.
CCIU’s arguments that it was limited to the role of a “fiscal watchdog” or “monitor” over the school and was expressly prohibited from exercising administrative control over educational programming at Glen Mills were similarly unpersuasive to the court.
Bartle found the contract between CCIU and Glen Mills provided that the intermediate unit “shall monitor Glen Mills for the purpose of ensuring compliance with federal and state laws related to exceptional children and shall notify the PA-DOE of any noncompliance.”
The suit credibly alleges that CCIU “completely failed” in that regard, according to the order, and those allegations are enough at this stage to survive a motion to dismiss.
The judge additionally declined severing any of the defendants from the suit, including two former employees, Andre Walker and Robert Taylor. Both face claims for assault and battery, as well as Eighth Amendment claims for violation of the plaintiffs’ rights to be free from excessive and unreasonable force.
“Rather than being separate and isolated, these acts are specific examples of the ‘culture of violence’ that is alleged to have existed at Glen Mills,” Bartle found.
The judge rejected arguments from Rivera and the PA-DOE that they should also be severed because the suit alleges only “education” issues against them and not “abuse claims.” The order indicates the claims of insufficient education at Glen Mills are intertwined with the physical abuse claims, which may constitute improper restraint, punishment and discrimination under the IDEA, ADA, and Section 504.
“Plaintiffs have asserted that complaints about inferior education programming led to abuse and that they were forced to remain in the allegedly abusive environment at Glen Mills longer (than) otherwise required when they failed to make educational progress,” the order notes.
“We are very pleased with the court’s ruling today,” said Maura McInerney, legal director of the Education Law Center. “By allowing the education-related claims to move forward, the court recognized the clear responsibility of the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Chester County Intermediate Unit, and Glen Mills Schools to be held accountable for the deprivation of an education to youth who were forced to languish in an inferior computer-based credit recovery program or denied any high school education at all.”
The school is currently under the new leadership of Acting Executive Director Chris Spriggs and board President Carolyn Seagraves, who say they are focused on retooling every aspect of the program to bring the school back online with a different atmosphere and culture.
“The Glen Mills School is committed to cooperating with all state and local entities currently conducting independent reviews, including those under the direction of the Pennsylvania Governor, Auditor General and Inspector General,” said school spokesman Mike Neilon in a statement. “We are currently not commenting on the pending litigation at this time. However, our plan moving forward is to implement reforms that provide the highest level of accountability and transparency, so we may once again serve our most vulnerable youth.”
Bartle last week also made some rulings on similar motions to dismiss in the other pending suit, brought by attorneys Shanon J. Carson and David Rudovsky on behalf of two other former Glen Mills students who claim to have suffered abuse during their time at the facility.
The judge found those two plaintiffs also did not have standing to bring claims under the Fourth and Fourteenth amendments, but did have standing for cruel and unusual punishment claims under the Eighth Amendment. Bartle also denied motions to dismiss claims for negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Both suits are due scheduled for a status conference Jan. 8.
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