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WOLFE v. FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS SCHOOL DIST.
600 F.Supp.2d 1011 (2009)
United States District Court, W.D. Arkansas, Fayetteville Division.
February 26, 2009.
The above-mentioned instances of alleged misconduct on the part of Zeagler do not transcend that which could fairly be described as "arbitrary, capricious, or in violation of state law." Young, 244 F.3d at 628. The truly egregious conduct at issue in this case was that of students, not of Zeagler. The students' conduct, while it may evidence an inadequate response on the part of the Zeagler, cannot be imputed to him to make his conduct shocking. Accordingly, Plaintiffs have failed to allege conduct that shocks the conscience, and their § 1983 claim for denial of Due Process is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. E. Failure to State a Claim for Outrage under Arkansas State Law Defendants contend that Plaintiffs have not adequately alleged a cause of action for the tort of outrage. "The test for outrage is an extremely narrow test that is committed by the most heinous conduct." Forrest City Mach. Works, Inc. v. Mosbacher,312 Ark. 578, 585, 851 S.W.2d 443, 447 (1993). "Merely describing the conduct as outrageous does not make it so." Fuqua v. Flowers, 341 Ark. 901, 907, 20 S.W.3d 388, 392 (2000). Extreme and outrageous conduct is conduct "so outrageous in character, and so extreme in degree, as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency, and to be regarded as atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized society." M.B.M. Co., Inc. v. Counce, 268 Ark. 269, 280, 596 S.W.2d 681, 687 (1980). As previously stated in the Court's discussion of Plaintiffs' § 1983 claim for denial of Due Process, the egregious conduct on the part of students in
the FSD cannot be imputed Zeagler, and Zeagler's conduct did not transcend "all possible bounds of decency." Counce, 268 Ark. at 280, 596 S.W.2d at 687. Likewise, the conduct of students cannot be directly attributed to the District. Plaintiffs point out that the District (1)continuously failed to provide an adequate response to the harassment of WW; (2) released WW's student records to the public; and (3) engaged in an inaccurate public relations campaign. These actions or inaction are simply not outrageous and cannot support a claim for outrage under Arkansas law. Plaintiffs' state-law claim for outrage is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. F. Failure to State a Claim for Deprivation of the Right not to be Bullied under Arkansas State Law Defendants assert that deprivation of the right not to be bullied is not actionable under Arkansas law. Ark.Code Ann. § 6-18-514 states that "every public school student in this state has the right to receive his or her public education in a public school educational environment that is reasonably free from substantial intimidation, harassment, or harm or threat of harm by another student." Section 6-18-514 does not create a private cause of action. Plaintiffs contend that violation of § 6-18-514 is actionable under the Arkansas Civil Rights Act ("Act"). The Act states that:
1. The Court has reviewed Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint at length and is aware of the extensive nature of the derogatory insults allegedly cast upon WW by students of the FSD. The Court will repeat those allegations herein only to the extent necessary to resolve the issues raised by Defendants' motion.
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