Payne v. Peninsula School District

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (act), the Peninsula School District (Peninsula) (defendant) developed an individualized education plan (IEP) for seven-year-old D.P., who had moderate autism. Due to the autism, D.P. had a tendency to bite, scratch, yell, and refuse to stay on task. One part of the IEP sought to address D.P.’s behavioral issues through various intervention methods, including the use of time out in a safe room. The five-by-six-foot safe room was located within the special-education classroom. D.P.’s teacher locked D.P. in the safe room, with no adult inside, on multiple occasions in response to D.P.’s classroom behavior. On several occasions while in the room, D.P. removed his clothes and urinated and defecated on himself. D.P. began to exhibit anxious behaviors and experience emotional and scholastic setbacks. Windy Payne (plaintiff), D.P.’s mother, expressed concerns to Peninsula over D.P. being alone in the safe room with a closed door. Payne requested mediation after Peninsula refused her repeated requests to move D.P. to another teacher’s class. Mediation was unsuccessful, and D.P. was then homeschooled. Payne never sought a due-process hearing. Payne brought suit against Peninsula in federal district court, claiming that the use of the safe room caused significant regression in D.P.’s communicative and sensory functions, diminished academic abilities, and continuing emotional trauma. The district court found that it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction over Payne’s claim because Payne failed to exhaust her administrative remedies before coming into federal court. The district court dismissed the case. Payne appealed.