T.K. v. New York City Department of Education

L.K. was a girl with learning disabilities who suffered from continual bullying by other students in her public-school classroom. Other students ostracized her, physically harassed her, and ridiculed her on a daily basis. L.K. suffered emotionally from this bullying and no longer wanted to go to school. L.K.’s parents (plaintiffs) attempted on multiple occasions, through letters and in-person meetings, to bring their concerns about the bullying to the school’s principal. The principal refused to speak to them in one such meeting because L.K. was present and ordered them out of her office. The principal also blocked L.K’s parents’ efforts to discuss the bullying during a special-education meeting and failed to respond to any of their letters. L.K.’s teachers ignored concerns regarding the bullying that were brought to them by L.K.’s aides, and the school failed to conduct any investigations or make any efforts to address the bullying. L.K.’s parents eventually enrolled L.K. in a private school for learning-disabled children and petitioned the New York City Department of Education (DOE) (defendant) for payment of those costs. The DOE rejected the request and maintained that L.K.’s placement in her former school was appropriate. L.K.’s parents appealed the DOE’s decision, which was upheld by administrative-review officers. L.K.’s parents then filed a claim for reimbursement of tuition in federal district court, alleging that the school’s failure to address the bullying amounted to a denial of a free appropriate public education (FAPE). The DOE moved for summary judgment.