Graham v. Friedlander

Citations

• 334 Conn. 564

Syllabus

The plaintiffs, four school-age children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and enrolled in the Norwalk public school system, and their parents, brought an action seeking damages from the defendant Board of Education of the City of Norwalk and three of its members in connec- tion with the hiring of the defendants S Co. and L, S Co.'s owner, to provide autism related services to certain children in the Norwalk school district. The plaintiffs alleged, inter alia, that, under state law, the negli- gent hiring and supervision of L by the board and board members proximately caused them to suffer permanent and ongoing injuries and losses. L represented when she was hired that she had received various master's degrees and was a board certified behavior analyst, but the board and three board members never performed a background check or confirmed her credentials. The board and board members filed a motion to dismiss those counts of the complaint asserted against them on the ground that the plaintiffs sought relief for the board's and board members' alleged failure to provide special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq.), thus triggering an administrative exhaustion requirement contained in that act and in the applicable state statutory (§ 10-76a et seq.) scheme that implements the federal act, thereby depriving the trial court of subject matter jurisdiction. The board and board members specifically contended that, although the plaintiffs did not allege a violation of the federal act, they sought relief for the denial of a free appropriate public education under the federal act and that, regardless of whether the complaint alleged a violation of the federal act or some other common- law claim, the federal act and state law (§ 10-76h) mandated the exhaus- tion of administrative remedies insofar as the crux of the complaint was the alleged denial of a free appropriate public education. The board and board membe