Partner Lewis Silverman recently obtained dismissal of two of three counts in a Section 1983 civil rights case against a school district, its Superintendent of Schools and the Deputy Superintendent of Schools. The plaintiff's Complaint alleged that the District violated her First Amendment right to association and further violations of her Fourteenth Amendment rights to substantive due process and privacy. The plaintiff alleged that the District improperly ordered her to submit to a New York State Education Law § 913 psychiatric examination and then publicized the order on the District’s web-site after it received information that she had inappropriately raised her voice at students and discarded student work. The teacher was suspended with pay, and was directed not to communicate with any school district employees while suspended.
On a pre-discovery motion to dismiss, the court held that the District did not violate the plaintiff's substantive due process rights by ordering her to undergo an examination or posting the order on the web-site using only the employee number and without any other identifying information. All claims against the administrators were dismissed based on the qualified immunity doctrine. The only claim that survived is the plaintiff's argument that the District violated the First Amendment by directing her not to speak to other staff members because she has a right to association with her union representatives.
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