Harmon v. Cumberland County Board of Education

186 F. Supp. 3d 500, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59888, 2016 WL 2599115
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. North Carolina
DecidedMay 5, 2016
DocketNo. 5:15-CV-00485-BR
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 186 F. Supp. 3d 500 (Harmon v. Cumberland County Board of Education) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Harmon v. Cumberland County Board of Education, 186 F. Supp. 3d 500, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59888, 2016 WL 2599115 (E.D.N.C. 2016).

Opinion

ORDER

W. Earl Britt, Senior U.S. District Judge

This matter is before the court on the motion to dismiss filed . by defendants Cumberland County Board of Education (“the Board”); Marie Pierce-Ford, Principal of Luther Nick Jeralds Middle School; Larissa Perkins, Assistant Principal of Luther Nick Jeralds Middle School; Stafford Daniels, Assistant Principal of Luther Nick Jeralds Middle School; Dr. James McLauchlin, Chair of the Board; Dr. Frank Till, Superintendent of Cumberland County Schools; and Dr. Joseph Locklear, deceased, former Associate Superintendent of Cumberland County Schools. (DE # 15.) Also before the court are plaintiffs motions for summary judgment, (DE # 18), and to expedite ruling on her motion for summary judgment, (DE #24). The motions raised have been fully briefed and are ripe for disposition.

I. FACTS

In 2014, plaintiff was employed by the Board as a special education teacher pursuant to a year-to-year probationary con[504]*504tract. (Am. CompL, DE # 1-2, at 64.)1 For the 2014-2015 school year, plaintiff was assigned by the Board to teach Severely Emotionally Disturbed (“SED”) students at Luther Nick Jeralds Middle School, where Pierce-Ford was principal. (Id.) Pierce-Ford later informed plaintiff that she would be the lead math resource teacher as well. (Id.) As a result, plaintiffs teaching schedule was structured so that the SED students would transition to resource classrooms for parts of the school day instead of remaining in a self-contained classroom with plaintiff as their full-time teacher. (Id.)

Plaintiff alleges that, at the start of the 2014-2015 school year, she notified Pierce-Ford that she was “starting [her] third year as a probationary teacher, and [she] needed to obtain [a performance rating of] proficient in order to receive [her] five year license.” (Id. at 68.) Soon after, plaintiff became concerned that her teaching schedule exacerbated the SED students’ behavioral issues. (Id. at 64-65.) Plaintiff communicated her concern to Pierce-Ford, and also alerted her that the SED students’ Individualized Education Plans (“IEPs”) required that they be placed in a self-contained classroom rather than a resource or regular education classroom. (Id. at 65.) When Pierce-Ford did not implement the changes plaintiff suggested, plaintiff notified the Director of the Exceptional Children’s Department of Cumberland County Schools regarding the situation. (Id. at 65, 71.) According to plaintiff, Pierce-Ford subsequently approached her about “putting her business out in the county” and instructed her “to follow the schedule.” (Id. at 65-66.) In September 2014, following another complaint by one of the school’s behavioral coaches, an evaluation was performed by the Behavioral Support Supervisor for Cumberland County Schools. (Id. at 66.) After the evaluation, Pierce-Ford adjusted plaintiffs teaching schedule to allow the SED students to receive full-time instruction in a self-contained classroom. (Id. at 66, 71.) Plaintiff alleges that from that point forward, Pierce-Ford discontinued her observations of plaintiffs classroom and limited her interaction with plaintiff. (Id. at 67.)

On 13 March 2015, plaintiff received a letter from Pierce-Ford notifying her of the superintendent’s recommendation not to renew her probationary contract for the following school year. (Id.) In the letter, Pierce-Ford indicated that the primary reasons for the nonrenewal recommendation were plaintiffs “inability to maintain effective classroom management of students” and “personal behavior that was insubordinate and contemptuous.” (Id.) The next day, on 14 March 2015, plaintiff filed a complaint with the Board challenging the non-renewal recommendation. (Id.)

After filing her complaint, plaintiff underwent two separate classroom observations by Perkins and Daniels, and received “proficient” ratings from both. (Id. at 67-68.) Subsequently, on 28 April 2015, Pierce-Ford completed plaintiffs summary evaluation, in which she rated plaintiff in the lower category of “developing.” (Id. at 68, 72.) Plaintiff met with Associate Superintendent Dr. Joseph Locklear to discuss her displeasure with the summary evaluation. (Id. at 69.) At that meeting, plaintiff conveyed her concern that Pierce-Ford had retaliated against her by fabricating the observations in the summary evaluation and intentionally giving her a low performance rating. (Id.) Plaintiff alleges that Dr. Locklear ordered an additional evaluation, and guaranteed her a job in the next academic year. (Id. at 69, 73.) According to plaintiff, Pierce-Ford later told her [505]*505“she was not making any changes to the summary evaluation despite the additional evaluation.” (Id. at 69). On 14 May 2016, Dr. Locklear reassigned plaintiff to teach at J.W. Coon Elementary School, where she finished out her contract. (Id. at 70.)

Following the non-renewal of plaintiffs contract, on 1 June 2016, Cumberland County Schools notified the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction of its recommendation to withhold plaintiffs continuing teaching license due to her failure to successfully complete the evaluation process. (See Defs.’ Ex. 2, DE # 15-2.) Plaintiff subsequently filed a complaint with the Board seeking review of Pierce-Ford’s summary evaluation on 11 June 2016. (Am. Compl., DE # 1-2, at 62.) Plaintiff alleges that she never received a response to her request. (Id.)

On 19 August 2015, plaintiff, proceeding pro se, commenced this action in the North Carolina Superior Court by filing a verified complaint, asserting a retaliation claim pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a). (Compl., DE # 1-2, at 3-21.) Plaintiff later amended her complaint to add claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for alleged, violations of her rights to equal protection and due process under the Fourteenth Amendment. (Am. Compl., DE # 1-2, ■ at 59-76.) Defendants removed the cáse to federal court on 18 September 2015. (DE # 1-3.) On 15 October 2015, defendants filed the instant motion to dismiss plaintiffs complaint. (DE #15.) Plaintiff filed a response in opposition to defendants’ motion to dismiss, in which she moved for summary judgment. (DE #18.) On 3 November 2015, defendants filed a notice of their intent not to file a reply brief. (DE # 20.) Plaintiff filed a motion to expedite the ruling on her motion for summary judgment on 14 January 2016. (DE # 24.)

II. ANALYSIS

Defendants move to dismiss plaintiffs amended complaint for failure to state a claim pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). (Defs.’ Mem., DE # 16, at 5-17.) Defendants argue that plaintiffs amended complaint fails to establish all the necessary elements for a retaliation claim under Title VII, (id. at 6-8), and all the necessary elements for an equal protection claim, (id. at 8-10). In addition, defendants contend that plaintiff cannot establish a deprivation of due process because she has not alleged a protected liberty or property interest. (Id. at 10-16.)

In order to withstand a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), “a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible- on its face.’ ” Ashcroft v.

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186 F. Supp. 3d 500, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59888, 2016 WL 2599115, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/harmon-v-cumberland-county-board-of-education-nced-2016.