John Mbawe v. Ferris State Univ. ( 2018 )

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR FULL-TEXT PUBLICATION
File Name: 18a0556n.06
Case No. 18-1046
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT
FILED
Nov 05, 2018
JOHN MBAWE, ) DEBORAH S. HUNT, Clerk
)
Plaintiff-Appellant, )
) ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED
v. ) STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR
) THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF
FERRIS STATE UNIVERSITY, et al., ) MICHIGAN
)
Defendants-Appellees. )
BEFORE: SILER, GRIFFIN, and STRANCH, Circuit Judges.
SILER, Circuit Judge. When John Mbawe was a pharmacy student at Ferris State
University (FSU), he began suffering from paranoid delusions. He believed people were spying
on him, following him, and injecting him with foreign substances while he slept. Eventually, a
state court granted FSU’s petition to have Mbawe involuntarily committed to a psychiatric
hospital. Mbawe’s commitment rendered him ineligible to maintain his pharmacy-intern license,
required for pharmacy students, so FSU withdrew Mbawe from the pharmacy program.
Mbawe filed this suit, claiming that the university and certain administrators (collectively,
FSU) unlawfully discriminated against him, in violation of Title II of the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) and § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and deprived him of adequate
Fourteenth Amendment procedural due process, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The district
Case No. 18-1046, Mbawe v. Ferris State Univ.
court granted summary judgment in FSU’s favor, holding that the university did not violate
Mbawe’s statutory or constitutional rights. We AFFIRM.
I.
Mbawe was admitted to FSU’s pharmacy program in 2010. He entered the program on a
remedial track, which meant that he had four years to complete his coursework instead of the usual
three. After his first year, he was academically dismissed for failing to maintain a 2.0 GPA, but
he was reinstated after a successful appeal.
As the fall 2013 semester approached, FSU officials grew concerned about Mbawe’s
mental health. That summer, Mbawe visited FSU’s Birkam Health Center (BHC) and told Dr.
Susan Davis he was being “targeted” by people who were monitoring his movements. He claimed
these people had put a liquid on his car and on his left arm that caused his skin to darken, but lab
work revealed no abnormalities. Dr. Davis noted that Mbawe appeared “rational and logical” and
said he was “genuinely upset and disturbed about his suspicions.”
Mbawe began missing classes soon after the semester began. His professors expressed
concern that he was apparently unable to comprehend his schedule and course requirements. Dr.
Jeffrey Bates, the pharmacy program’s Student Services Coordinator, spoke with Mbawe several
times. Mbawe told Dr. Bates that people had been injecting him while he slept, and added that
“someone was using cameras to spy on him.”
On September 16, an FSU student found three handwritten notes in a university restroom.
The first note contained details regarding travel plans that Mbawe had abandoned. The other two
notes contained several statements reflecting Mbawe’s belief that he was in danger. Specifically,
Mbawe wrote that people had placed cameras in his apartment and had injected him while he slept.
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The notes also said that “[t]hey are killing me for nothing,” and “I know I will die for what they
have on my body.”
After receiving a photograph of the notes, Dr. Bates called Mbawe, who confirmed that the
notes belonged to him. Dr. Bates encouraged Mbawe to visit the BHC counseling center, but he
refused and said he did not need counseling. Mbawe did, however, agree to see Dr. Davis again.
Mbawe visited BHC on September 19 and was seen by Nurse Melissa Sprague. He
maintained his belief that people were coming into his apartment, poisoning his food, and injecting
things into his body. Nurse Sprague noted that Mbawe had a mental disorder but was “not in any
way threatening or bizarre with his behavior.” Following his visit, another BHC nurse reported to
Dr. Bates that Mbawe was “rational” but “unwilling to see a psychiatrist,” and was “not a threat to
others or himself.”
The next day, Mbawe went to BHC’s counseling center and met with Thomas Liszewski,
a limited licensed psychologist. Mbawe told Liszewski that he was being bullied by three other
pharmacy students who were injecting him with poison while he slept and that the FSU police
refused to investigate. Liszewski spoke with FSU Officer Saunders who said that Mbawe “was
schizophrenic and needed to be hospitalized but he was not an eminent [sic] threat to himself or
anyone else.” Liszewski consulted with a colleague and the two “mutually agreed” that they did
not have “any right to do anything else.” Mbawe rebuffed Liszewski’s suggestion that he go to a
mental-health center or the emergency room. Liszewski’s notes from the meeting describe Mbawe
as “quite friendly and rational” and as someone with a low risk for suicide or homicide.
Renee Vander Myde, the BHC director, eventually became aware of Mbawe’s difficulties.
She and other FSU officials decided to convene a Behavioral Review Team (BRT) to discuss
possible courses of action. According to FSU, a BRT is “a forum for faculty, staff, and students
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to report observed behaviors of any person within the University community that warrant serious
concern.”
The BRT met on September 23. Vander Myde and Dr. Bates attended, along with several
other FSU officials: Kenneth Plas, an attorney from the general counsel’s office; Leroy Wright,
Dean of Students; James Cook, Assistant Director of the Department of Public Safety; and Dr.
Wendy Samuels, a social work professor. Vander Myde told the BRT she was concerned with
Mbawe’s mental health and recounted his allegations of people trying to poison him. She also
reported that “[b]oth Dr. Davis and Tom Liszewski stated that John was very kind and did not
display any aggressive behavior toward them.” Dr. Bates similarly stated that “he had not seen
any alarming behavior from [Mbawe] until recently when John shared his fear regarding the
injections.” Dr. Bates also shared that Mbawe was struggling academically because of his
absences and was close to being dismissed from the pharmacy program.
The BRT discussed several options, including whether a medical withdrawal would be
appropriate. Dr. Bates said he had suggested to Mbawe that he medically withdraw, but Mbawe
was not interested. The meeting ended with Vander Myde stating that she would contact Network
180, a mental health facility in Grand Rapids, to see if they had any history with Mbawe.
At 11:00 a.m. on September 24, Vander Myde emailed the BRT. In her opinion, Mbawe
needed “intervention for his own well-being and because of the concerns we discussed yesterday
regarding the potential for violence when someone experiences these types of thought processes
and who has already exhibited some degree of aggression/anger/frustration related to the pattern
of thinking.” Vander Myde stated that in order to file a petition for involuntary commitment,
someone had to have been in contact with Mbawe within the previous forty-eight hours.
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Sometime between 11:00 a.m. and 11:39 a.m., Vander Myde, herself a limited licensed
psychologist, spoke with Mbawe on the phone. Following that conversation, Vander Myde told
the BRT Mbawe “is still delusional and wants the school to get the police to investigate. He
continues to refuse getting help other than getting police to investigate the poisoning he claims to
be getting.”
That same day, Vander Myde submitted a petition for hospitalization to the Kent County
Probate Court. Vander Myde averred that Mbawe’s “refusal to get help,” as well as his refusal “to
eat and his delusions/paranoia [were] putting him at risk of self harm and potentially harm to
others.” Soon thereafter, Vander Myde informed the BRT that the state judge had considered the
petition and ordered Mbawe to be hospitalized for a psychiatric examination.
One week later, on October 1, Grand Rapids police located Mbawe in class at FSU.
Officers took him into custody, and he was eventually hospitalized at Pine Rest Christian Mental
Health Services. Two physicians concluded that Mbawe had a mental illness and recommended
that he be kept for treatment.
On October 10, the state probate court held a hearing regarding Mbawe’s hospitalization.
Mbawe was present with counsel. Vander Myde, Mbawe, and Dr. Verle Bell, a staff psychiatrist
from Pine Rest, all testified. Following the hearing, the probate court found by clear and
convincing evidence that Mbawe was a person requiring treatment under Michigan’s mental health
code and ordered that he be hospitalized for no longer than sixty days. The probate court’s
commitment order established that Mbawe had a “mental illness,” defined as a “substantial
disorder of thought or mood that significantly impairs judgment, behavior, capacity to recognize
reality, or ability to cope with the ordinary demands of life.” Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 330.1400(g),
1401.
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The next day, Vander Myde, Dr. Bates, and Dr. Stephen Durst (Dean of the College of
Pharmacy) began to discuss Mbawe’s future in the pharmacy program. Of particular concern was
their belief that Mbawe’s involuntary commitment for a mental illness rendered him ineligible to
continue his studies. FSU’s “Technical Standards” for pharmacy students require, among other
things, that a student “possess the emotional and mental health required for full utilization of their
abilities” and also “obtain and maintain a valid Pharmacist Intern license in the State of Michigan.”
Michigan’s Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), the agency in charge of
pharmacist licensure, is obligated by statute to investigate and possibly take disciplinary action
against a licensee who has a “condition that impairs, or may impair, the ability to safely and
skillfully engage in the practice of the health profession.” Id.
§ 333.16221(a). Such a condition may consist of a “[m]ental . . . inability reasonably related to
and adversely affecting the licensee’s . . . ability to practice in a safe and competent manner.” Id.
§ 333.16221(b)(iii). And FSU was obligated by statute to report Mbawe’s involuntary
commitment to LARA. Id. § 333.16222(1). Thus, Dr. Bates and Dean Durst recognized that
Mbawe’s mental illness placed his pharmacy-intern license at risk. And without that license,
Mbawe could not comply with the pharmacy program’s Technical Standards.
Dr. Bates and Dean Durst were also concerned that Mbawe had missed too much
coursework to allow him to successfully complete his classes that semester. Because Mbawe was
already on a remedial track, he would have been academically dismissed if he had failed any of
his classes. This would have made it difficult, if not impossible, for Mbawe to return to the
pharmacy program in the future.
Following internal deliberations among Dr. Bates, Dean Durst, Vander Myde, Wright, and
the general counsel’s office, FSU officials decided to withdraw Mbawe from the university for
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medical reasons. FSU claims that this route was preferable to outright dismissal because it “would
allow Mr. Mbawe the opportunity to apply for readmission,” it “would not negatively impact Mr.
Mbawe’s GPA,” and it “would also give Mr. Mbawe the additional time that he would need to
finish his third-year classes that other alternatives would not.” But FSU policy required that a
student, not the university, initiate a medical withdrawal. Nevertheless, on October 15, Dr. Bates
emailed Vander Myde and asked that Mbawe be medically withdrawn from the university.
Mbawe was discharged from Pine Rest on October 16. That same day, he contacted two
of his professors asking to make up lost work but was told that he had been withdrawn and that he
should contact the dean’s office. On October 17, Mbawe met with Dr. Bates and Dean Durst.
They informed Mbawe that he had been withdrawn from the pharmacy program because he was
no longer in compliance with the program’s Technical Standards.
Mbawe appealed his withdrawal to the provost’s office on October 21. On October 22,
Dean Durst emailed Dr. Paul Blake, the Associate Provost of Academic Affairs. Dean Durst stated
that he and Dr. Bates believed that overturning Mbawe’s medical withdrawal would place him at
risk of academic dismissal, which would make it more difficult for Mbawe to gain readmission to
the pharmacy program in the future.
On October 22, Dr. Bates emailed Mbawe’s four professors to inquire whether Mbawe
could pass his classes if he was given excused absences from October 1 onward. None of the
professors answered Dr. Bates’ question definitively; they provided answers ranging from
“theoretically possible” to “if I was forced to choose pass or fail I would have to say fail.”
Dr. Blake, Dean Durst, and Dr. Bates met with Mbawe on November 5. They informed
Mbawe that his appeal had been denied and his withdrawal would stand. At Mbawe’s request, Dr.
Blake provided Mbawe with a formal letter explaining the three reasons his appeal was denied: he
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had missed too much class to successfully complete his courses, he was at risk of being
academically dismissed if he was not medically withdrawn, and his pharmacy intern licensure had
been compromised.
In his letter, Dr. Blake made clear that “[t]he next steps for re-engagement in the Pharmacy
Program are to gain clearance from HPRP and reapply to the University and the Pharmacy
Program.” HPRP, the Michigan Health Professionals Recovery Program, is “a non-disciplinary
program designed to assist participants recover from substance abuse or mental health problems.”
Following their October 17 meeting, Dr. Bates had spoken with HPRP officials, and they advised
him that Mbawe likely met the statutory definition of “impaired” and would possibly need to
receive a psychiatric evaluation and enter into a monitoring agreement to maintain his pharmacy
intern license. Dr. Bates formally referred Mbawe to HPRP on November 4, the day before Mbawe
learned his appeal was denied.
At HPRP’s urging, Mbawe eventually submitted to a psychiatric examination in January
2014. The HPRP psychiatrist observed that Mbawe suffered from “delusional belief and some
paranoid psychotic behaviors,” had not been taking his prescribed medication, and had no “insight
into his illness or treatment need.” She concluded that Mbawe could not return to practice until
his condition was stable and until he entered a monitoring agreement with HPRP and restarted his
medication.
HPRP concurred and sent Mbawe a proposed monitoring agreement to sign. Among other
things, the proposed agreement required him to participate in regular therapy sessions. Mbawe
received the agreement and met with Dean Durst, Dr. Blake, and Dr. Bates on March 11.
According to Mbawe, the FSU officials promised that he would be readmitted to the pharmacy
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program if he signed the monitoring agreement. But Mbawe was dissatisfied with the proposed
agreement because it misidentified him as a registered pharmacist, rather than a pharmacy student.
In any event, Mbawe failed to sign the monitoring agreement before the March 11 deadline,
so HPRP closed its file and reported Mbawe to LARA. In turn, LARA filed an administrative
complaint against Mbawe and summarily suspended his license. Mbawe did not respond to the
complaint. Ultimately, LARA issued a final order on October 2, suspending Mbawe’s license for
a minimum of six months and a day under Mich. Comp. Laws § 333.16221(b)(iii).
Mbawe then filed a complaint with the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights
(OCR). OCR eventually concluded that FSU unlawfully discriminated against Mbawe because of
a mental disability.1 This suit, against FSU, Vander Myde, and Drs. Durst, Bates, and Blake,
followed.
Following discovery, the district court granted summary judgment in FSU’s favor. The
court held that Mbawe’s ADA and § 504 claims failed because he was not “otherwise qualified”
to continue his studies in the pharmacy program, with or without a reasonable accommodation.
The court also held that, because Mbawe’s dismissal was academic rather than disciplinary, FSU
did not deprive Mbawe of adequate procedural due process by failing to afford him a formal
hearing prior to withdrawing him from the program.2
1
Neither party asserts that OCR’s findings are entitled to any sort of binding, preclusive,
or persuasive effect in this action.
2
The district court also held that FSU did not violate Mbawe’s substantive due process
rights because his disability did not make him part of a suspect class and FSU had a rational basis
for its decision. Mbawe does not contest that holding on appeal and has therefore waived his
substantive due process claim. See Robinson v. Jones, 142 F.3d 905, 906 (6th Cir. 1998).
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II.
We review a district court’s grant of summary judgment de novo, “construing the evidence
and drawing all reasonable inferences in favor of the nonmoving party.” Rocheleau v. Elder Living
Constr., LLC, 814 F.3d 398, 400 (6th Cir. 2016) (citation omitted).
III.
A.
Mbawe first claims that FSU discriminated against him in violation of Title II of the ADA
and § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.3 Those statutes “allow[] disabled individuals to sue certain
entities . . . that exclude them from participation in, deny them benefits of, or discriminate against
them in a program because of their disability.” Gohl v. Livonia Pub. Schs., 836 F.3d 672, 681 (6th
Cir. 2016).
Because Mbawe brings forth no direct evidence of discrimination, the familiar McDonnell
Douglas burden-shifting framework applies. Id. at 682; see McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green,
411 U.S. 792, 802-04 (1973). Mbawe must first establish “that he (1) is disabled under the statutes,
(2) is ‘otherwise qualified’ for participation in the program, [] (3) ‘is being excluded from
participation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination’ because of his disability or
handicap, and (4) (for the Rehabilitation Act) that the program receives federal financial
assistance.” Id. (quoting G.C. v. Owensboro Pub. Schs., 711 F.3d 623, 635 (6th Cir. 2013)). If
Mbawe makes out a prima facie case, “the burden shifts to the school to offer a legitimate,
nondiscriminatory reason for its actions.” Id. at 683 (citation and internal quotation marks
3
Since “the standards under both of the acts are largely the same, cases construing one
statute are instructive in construing the other.” Andrews v. Ohio, 104 F.3d 803, 807 (6th Cir. 1997)
(citation omitted). We often analyze ADA and § 504 claims together, see S.S. v. E. Ky. Univ., 532
F.3d 445, 452-53 (6th Cir. 2008), and we do so again today.
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omitted). “If the school does so, the burden shifts back to [Mbawe] to establish that the school’s
proffered reason is merely a pretext for unlawful discrimination.” Id. (citation omitted).
The parties do not dispute that Mbawe’s mental illness renders him disabled under the
ADA and § 504. On the second element, FSU argues, and the district court concluded, that Mbawe
was not “otherwise qualified” to continue his studies because he no longer satisfied the pharmacy
program’s Technical Standards and because he failed to participate in the HPRP monitoring
agreement that would have allowed him to maintain his pharmacy intern license. We agree.
“A handicapped or disabled person is ‘otherwise qualified’ to participate in a program if
she can meet its necessary requirements with reasonable accommodation.” Kaltenberger v. Ohio
Coll. of Podiatric Med., 162 F.3d 432, 435 (6th Cir. 1998) (citation omitted). The plaintiff bears
the burden of demonstrating that he is qualified by “proposing an accommodation and proving that
it is reasonable, including establishing that he can meet a program’s necessary requirements with
that accommodation.” Shaikh v. Lincoln Mem’l Univ., 608 F. App’x 349, 353 (6th Cir. 2015)
(quoting Jakubowski v. Christ Hosp., Inc., 627 F.3d 195, 202 (6th Cir. 2010); Kaltenberger, 162
F.3d at 435) (internal quotation marks omitted).
Without a reasonable accommodation, Mbawe was not qualified to continue in the
pharmacy program. As noted above, the program’s Technical Standards require that a student
“obtain and maintain a valid Pharmacist Intern license in the State of Michigan.” When FSU
officials medically withdrew Mbawe from the university, the state probate court had already
determined—after a full adversarial hearing—that he was suffering from a “substantial disorder of
thought or mood that significantly impairs judgment, behavior, capacity to recognize reality, or
ability to cope with the ordinary demands of life.” Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 330.1400(g), 1401.
Michigan law required FSU to report Mbawe’s condition to LARA, id. § 333.16222(a), and LARA
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was obligated to initiate administrative proceedings once it learned that Mbawe was suffering from
a condition that adversely affected his “ability to practice in a safe and competent manner,” id.
§ 333.16221(b)(iii). Once the state court found that Mbawe suffered from a mental illness, he was
no longer eligible to hold a pharmacy intern license, and he therefore no longer satisfied the
Technical Standards.
Further, the Technical Standards required that Mbawe “possess the emotional and mental
health required for full utilization of [his] abilities.” [Id.] Even prior to his hospitalization, FSU
officials were aware that Mbawe’s mental illness was adversely affecting his ability to function in
the program. He was absent from class and seemed confused regarding his schedule. Mbawe’s
involuntary commitment only served to heighten these concerns. Here too, Mbawe’s illness
rendered him unable to meet the Technical Standards.
The question, then, is whether Mbawe could have continued in the pharmacy program with
a reasonable accommodation. The district court correctly determined that Mbawe failed to
“propose[] a reasonable accommodation to account for his disability,” as was his duty. Shaikh,
608 F. App’x at 354 (quoting Jakubowski, 627 F.3d at 202). Mbawe never proposed any
accommodation that would have allowed him to continue his studies and remain in compliance
with the pharmacy program’s Technical Standards. Indeed, in light of the state court’s finding that
he suffered from a mental illness, it is doubtful that such an accommodation existed, outside of
participation in HPRP. This alone proves fatal to Mbawe’s statutory claims.
Moreover, Mbawe rejected the accommodation FSU actually proposed—compliance with
HPRP’s monitoring agreement. In denying Mbawe’s appeal, Dr. Blake explained that Mbawe
could reapply to the pharmacy program if he was cleared by HPRP. This promise was reaffirmed
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by Dean Durst, Dr. Blake, and Dr. Bates in March. Nevertheless, Mbawe refused to sign the
agreement before the deadline imposed by HPRP.
Mbawe does not contend that HPRP’s proposed monitoring agreement or FSU’s request
that he comply with it were unreasonable. Rather, his only argument is that he rightly refused to
sign the agreement because it contained an inconsequential error stating he was a pharmacist, not
a pharmacy student. But this error was attributable to HPRP, not the university; and in any event,
Mbawe had a month to seek a correction. He did not. Mbawe cannot now claim that FSU should
have provided him another specific accommodation—one that he did not propose—when he
refused the reasonable accommodation actually offered to him by the university. See Tennial v.
United Parcel Serv., Inc., 840 F.3d 292, 307 (6th Cir. 2016).
Mbawe’s other arguments are similarly unavailing. He claims that FSU officials failed to
engage in an “interactive process” to “identify the precise limitations resulting from the disability
and potential reasonable accommodations that could overcome those limitations,” as required by
the ADA. Keith v. Cty. of Oakland, 703 F.3d 918, 929 (6th Cir. 2013) (citation omitted). This
argument fails for two reasons.
First, we have held in the employment context that, to trigger the duty to participate in the
interactive process, “[a]n employee has the burden of proposing an initial accommodation.”
Jakubowski, 627 F.3d at 202. Mbawe fails to explain why this rule should be any different in the
educational context. As noted above, Mbawe failed to propose any accommodation that would
have allowed him to remain qualified to be a pharmacy student, so FSU’s duty to engage in the
interactive process was never triggered.
Second, we have also held in the employment context that failure to participate in the
interactive process “is actionable only if it prevents identification of an appropriate
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accommodation for a qualified individual.” E.E.O.C. v. Ford Motor Co., 782 F.3d 753, 766 (6th
Cir. 2015) (citation and emphasis omitted). Here, the only accommodation that would have
allowed Mbawe to remain in compliance with the pharmacy program’s Technical Standards—
participation in HPRP—was identified by FSU and rejected by Mbawe. Because Mbawe failed to
make a prima facie showing that he was qualified to continue his studies with or without
accommodations, “we need not consider whether [FSU] failed to engage in the interactive
process.” Williams v. AT&T Mobility Servs. LLC, 847 F.3d 384, 395 (6th Cir. 2017).
Mbawe also argues that FSU failed to follow its own policies for dealing with students
suffering from a mental illness. True enough. FSU does not deny that the means by which it
removed Mbawe from the pharmacy program—an “involuntary medical withdrawal”—was not an
authorized university policy. But “the relevant inquiry is whether [FSU] violated the ADA or
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, not whether [FSU] followed its internal policies.” Shaikh,
608 F. App’x at 355. As explained above, FSU violated neither statute. Moreover, Mbawe fails
to appreciate that FSU’s departure from its own policies worked in his own favor. He does not
dispute that, had he failed one or more of his classes, he would have been academically dismissed
from the program and that it would have been difficult, if not impossible, for him to ever return.
The route chosen by FSU officials, though not authorized under university policy, left open that
possibility.
Because Mbawe failed to demonstrate that he was “otherwise qualified” to continue as a
student in the pharmacy program, Gohl, 836 F.3d at 682, the district court did not err by granting
summary judgment in FSU’s favor on Mbawe’s ADA and Rehabilitation Act claims.
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B.
Mbawe also claims FSU deprived him of his Fourteenth Amendment right to procedural
due process, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983, by failing to provide him adequate notice and a
hearing before withdrawing him from the pharmacy program. To prevail on his procedural due
process claim, Mbawe “must show that (1) he had a life, liberty, or property interest protected by
the Due Process Clause; (2) he was deprived of this protected interest; and (3) the state did not
afford him adequate procedural rights prior to depriving him of the property interest.” Women’s
Med. Prof’l Corp. v. Baird, 438 F.3d 595, 611 (6th Cir. 2006).
The district court assumed, and FSU does not dispute, that Mbawe had “a property and
liberty interest in continued enrollment in the pharmacy program.” It is undisputed that Mbawe
was removed from the program. His § 1983 claim therefore turns on the last element, whether he
was afforded adequate process.
The amount of process Mbawe was due depends on whether Mbawe’s dismissal was
academic or disciplinary in nature. There is a “significant difference between the failure of a
student to meet academic standards and the violation by a student of valid rules of conduct.” Bd.
of Curators of Univ. of Mo. v. Horowitz, 435 U.S. 78, 86 (1978). When a student is dismissed for
academic reasons, the procedural requirements are “far less stringent,” id., and “a student is entitled
only to notice that his or her academic performance was not satisfactory and a ‘careful and
deliberate’ decision regarding [the school’s] punishment,” Yoder v. Univ. of Louisville, 526 F.
App’x 537, 549 (6th Cir. 2013) (citing Horowitz, 435 U.S. at 85; Ku v. Tennessee, 322 F.3d 431,
436 (6th Cir. 2003)). “In contrast, courts reviewing a disciplinary action must conduct a ‘more
searching inquiry.’” Id. (quoting Flaim v. Med. Coll. of Ohio, 418 F.3d 629, 634 (6th Cir. 2005)).
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The term “academic” is something of a misnomer. Especially “in the context of medical
school, academic evaluations are not limited to consideration of raw grades or other objective
criteria.” Ku, 322 F.3d at 436. For instance, in Horowitz, a medical student’s dismissal was
deemed academic after “the school warned her that significant improvement was needed not only
in the area of clinical performance but also in her personal hygiene and in keeping to her clinical
schedules,” because “[p]ersonal hygiene and timeliness may be [] important factors in a school’s
determination of whether a student will make a good medical doctor.” 435 U.S. at 91 n.6.
Similarly, we held in Ku that a medical school did not deprive a student of adequate procedural
due process by suspending his studies without first holding a hearing, when the student not only
failed an important exam, but also had “continued difficulty interacting with faculty and peers.”
322 F.3d at 436; see also Yoder, 526 F. App’x at 539-42, 550-51 (university dismissed nursing
student for academic reasons when she violated school’s Honor Code by revealing confidential
patient information on social media).
Here, Mbawe was subjected to an academic dismissal. FSU offered three justifications for
withdrawing Mbawe from the pharmacy program: he had missed a significant number of classes,
he was in jeopardy of failing his classes, and he was unlikely to maintain his pharmacy-intern
license in light of his hospitalization. The district court correctly observed that these justifications
plainly related to Mbawe’s “ability to succeed in the pharmacy program and [his] fitness to perform
as a pharmacist.” Mbawe was not, as he claims, removed from school based upon a “violation . .
. of valid rules of conduct” or “disruptive or insubordinate behavior.” Horowitz, 435 U.S. at 86,
90.
Because Mbawe was subjected to an academic dismissal, FSU was not obligated to afford
him a formal hearing. Ku, 322 F.3d at 436. “[W]hen the student has been fully informed of the
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faculty’s dissatisfaction with the student’s academic progress and when the decision to dismiss
was careful and deliberate, the Fourteenth Amendment’s procedural due process requirement has
been met.” Id. (citing Horowitz, 435 U.S. at 85-86). Here, Dr. Bates discussed with Mbawe the
possibility that he might medically withdraw from the pharmacy program before he was
hospitalized. [R. 59-15, PageID 1713.] And after Mbawe was released from the hospital, Dean
Durst and Dr. Bates met with him and discussed his academic situation. Mbawe was able to use
the information he learned during that meeting in his subsequent appeal, the denial of which
resulted in his removal from the pharmacy program. Prior to FSU’s final decision, then, Mbawe
was “fully informed of the faculty’s dissatisfaction with [his] academic progress” and the school’s
concern regarding his fitness to continue as a pharmacy student. Id.
As noted above, the record also reflects that the FSU officials responsible for Mbawe’s
medical withdrawal were “careful and deliberate” in their decision-making. Id. They interacted
with Mbawe on several occasions, attended the state court hearing that upheld his hospitalization,
and extensively discussed the pharmacy program’s Technical Standards and licensure requirement.
Mbawe was allowed an appeal, the denial of which was explained to him both in person and in
writing. Put differently, Mbawe “was given particularized professional attention by faculty
members at all levels in an effort to protect patients while helping [Mbawe] improve his chances
of success.” Ku, 322 F.3d at 437; see also Shaboon v. Duncan, 252 F.3d 722, 726-28, 731 (5th
Cir. 2001) (upholding academic dismissal of a medical student without a hearing after student
refused to seek mental health treatment). Mbawe received the process to which he was entitled,
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Case No. 18-1046, Mbawe v. Ferris State Univ.
and the district court rightly granted summary judgment in FSU’s favor on his procedural due
process claim.
IV.
Through no fault of his own, John Mbawe fell victim to a mental illness that eventually
cost him a place in his chosen profession. Once the state court determined that Mbawe met the
statutory criteria for involuntary commitment, his pharmacy intern license and, by extension, his
ability to satisfy the Technical Standards of the FSU pharmacy program were undeniably
compromised. Then, perhaps afflicted by his condition, Mbawe refused to pursue the only course
of action that afforded him an opportunity to resume his studies and eventually become a
pharmacist. This is not to say that FSU could not do better the next time it is confronted with a
student facing a mental health crisis. But, affording FSU the deference it is due in this particularly
sensitive setting, the district court correctly concluded that Mbawe could not prevail on his
statutory and constitutional claims.
AFFIRMED.
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