Lee-Walker v. N.Y.C. Dep't of Educ.

220 F. Supp. 3d 484, 2016 WL 6901320, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 162561
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedNovember 23, 2016
Docket16-cv-109
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 220 F. Supp. 3d 484 (Lee-Walker v. N.Y.C. Dep't of Educ.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lee-Walker v. N.Y.C. Dep't of Educ., 220 F. Supp. 3d 484, 2016 WL 6901320, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 162561 (S.D.N.Y. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

JOHN G. KOELTL, District Judge:

The plaintiff Jeena Lee-Walker claims that New York City school officials retaliated against her because she taught a lesson to her ninth grade students about the Central Park Five, and because of a subsequent discussion that she had with school officials about that class. She claims that the school officials and the New York City Department of Education (the “DOE”) violated her First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.

The plaintiff brings this suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the DOE, Superintendent Fred Walsh, Principal Stephan Noonan, Assistant Principal Christopher Yarmy, and Assistant Principal Benny Ureana. The defendants move to dismiss the complaint pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for failure to state a claim. This Court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1381. For the reasons explained below, the motion to dismiss is granted.

I.

In deciding a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), the allegations in the complaint are accepted as true, and all reasonable inferences must be drawn in the plaintiffs favor. McCarthy v. Dun & Bradstreet Corp., 482 F.3d 184, 191 (2d Cir. 2007). The Court’s function on a -motion to dismiss is “not to weigh the evidence that might be presented at a trial but merely to determine whether the complaint itself is legally sufficient.” Goldman v. Belden, 754 F.2d 1059, 1067 (2d Cir. 1985). The Court should not dismiss the complaint if the plaintiff has stated “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows.the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). While the Court should construe the factual allegations in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, “the tenet that a court must accept as true all of the allegations contained in the complaint is inapplicable to legal conclusions.” Id.; see also Springer v. U.S. Bank Nat’l Ass’n, No. 15-cv-1107 (JGK), 2015 WL 9462083, at *1 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 23, 2015).

When presented with a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), the Court may consider documents that are referenced in the complaint, documents that the plaintiff relied on in bringing suit and that are either in the plaintiffs possession or that the plaintiff knew of when bringing suit, or matters of which judicial notice may be taken. See Chambers v. Time Warner, Inc., 282 F.3d 147, 153 (2d Cir. 2002); see also Faulkner v. Beer, 463 F.3d 130, 134 (2d Cir. 2006) (holding documents outside the record may become the basis for a dismissal if the document is “integral” to the complaint and there are no disputes regarding its authenticity or relevance); Springer, 2015 WL 9462083, at *1.

II.

The complaint alleges that the defendants retaliated against the plaintiff in vio[488]*488lation of her First Amendment and due process rights. The following facts alleged in the complaint are accepted as true for the purposes of the motion to dismiss.

Lee-Walker is a graduate of Barnard College and has postgraduate degrees from Harvard and Fordham Universities. Compl. ¶ 6(b). The plaintiff obtained New York State teaching licenses in English Language Arts and was employed as a teacher by the DOE beginning in at least 2011. Id. ¶¶3, 6(b). The plaintiff took a leave of absence in the 2011-2012 school year and did not receive any formal performance review during that school year. Id. ¶ 6(c). The plaintiffs performance during the 2012-2013 schoolyear was allegedly fully satisfactory. Id. ¶ 6(d).

In November 2013, Assistant Principal Yarmy conducted an informal classroom observation of the plaintiffs teaching. Id. ¶ 6(f). Lee-Walker planned to include as part of her ninth grade English curriculum a critical look at the Central Park Five case, which she hoped would highlight “an American societal tendency to rush to adverse legal conclusions against black males.” Id. ¶ 6(e). After observing the class, Yarmy allegedly instructed the plaintiff to be “way more balanced” in discussing the case because he “feared that it would unnecessarily ‘rile up’ black students.” Id. ¶ 6(g). The plaintiff argued in response that students — black students in particular — should be “riled up,” and that a “good, engaged education” would necessarily encourage students to “re-examine old assumptions and to challenge orthodoxy, even whilst presenting a balanced view of the facts.” Id. ¶ 6(h). She also argued that including the case in her lesson plan would allow students to “contextualize” Miranda warnings and understand their role in civil society. Id. ¶ 6(i).

Assistant Principal Yarmy then allegedly “angrily disagreed” with the plaintiff, asserting that there had not been any rush to judgment in the Central Park Five case and that Miranda warnings did not apply to the defendants in that case. Id ¶ 6(j). He then purportedly repeated his concern that the lesson would “rile up” black students and “possibly create little ‘riots’ over concepts that the[ ] [students] were unlikely to understand anyway,” and repeated his instruction to be more “balanced” in presenting the case as part of her lesson plan. Id. ¶ 6(j), (k). The plaintiff continued to disagree, arguing that “the lesson was appropriate and ‘balanced’ already.” Id. ¶6(£). After an “increasingly shrill” back and forth, the plaintiff allegedly agreed to “try to follow Yarmy’s specific instruction to be ‘more balanced,’ ” and later allegedly sought clarification regarding that instruction. Id.

Following their argument, Yarmy allegedly informed Principal Noonan and one or more other Assistant Principals about the inclusion of the Central Park Five case in the plaintiffs lesson plan and about Yar-my’s argument with her. Id. ¶ 6(m). As a result, the plaintiff allegedly gained a reputation for being obstinate and insubordinate. Id. ¶ 6(n).

Several days later, on November 13, the plaintiff met with Principal Noonan and Assistant Principal Yarmy. See id. ¶¶ 6(e), (o). Yarmy reiterated his view that the plaintiffs presentation of the Central Park Five case was one-sided; that there had in fact been no “rush to judgment” in the case; that Miranda warnings were a “recent ‘creation’”; and that such a lesson might create “riot-like” situations. Id. ¶6(0). The plaintiff again reiterated her views about the case, explained why she believed the lesson would be beneficial for her students, and argued that her presentation of the case was fair. Id. ¶ 6(q). Noo-nan allegedly failed to intervene, and nod[489]*489ded in agreement with Yarmy. Id. ¶¶ 6(p), (r).

At the same meeting, Noonan allegedly expressed disapproval of the plaintiffs use of the short story “Nilda,” by Junot Diaz, questioning its appropriateness given its use of a racial epithet. Id.

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Bluebook (online)
220 F. Supp. 3d 484, 2016 WL 6901320, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 162561, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lee-walker-v-nyc-dept-of-educ-nysd-2016.