Peterson v. Minidoka County School Dist. No. 331

Decision Date08 July 1997
Docket Number95-35185,Nos. 95-35041,s. 95-35041
Citation118 F.3d 1351
Parties120 Ed. Law Rep. 71, 12 IER Cases 1773, 97 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 5393, 97 Daily Journal D.A.R. 8743 Frank PETERSON; Priscilla Peterson, husband and wife, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. MINIDOKA COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 331, a body Corporate and Politic of the State of Idaho, Defendant-Appellant. Frank PETERSON; Priscilla Peterson, husband and wife, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. MINIDOKA COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 331, a body Corporate and Politic of the State of Idaho, Defendant-Appellee.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

Steven K. Tolman, Tolman Law Office, Twin Falls, ID, for defendant-appellant-cross-appellee.

Frederick J. Hahn, Holden, Kidwell, Hahn, & Crapo, Todd J. Wilcox, Boise, ID, for plaintiffs-appellees-cross-appellants.

Appeals from the United States District Court for the District of Idaho; Mikel H.

Williams, Magistrate Judge, Presiding. D.C. No. CV-92-00342-HLR.

Before: FLETCHER, JOHN T. NOONAN, Jr. and RYMER, Circuit Judges.

NOONAN, Circuit Judge:

The Minidoka County School District No. 331, a corporate and politic body of the State of Idaho, (the District) appeals the judgment in favor of Frank Peterson and his wife Priscilla in their action against the District. The Petersons cross-appeal the denial of attorney's fees. We affirm the judgment of the district court in favor of the Petersons. We reverse the denial of attorney's fees and remand for their award.

FACTS NOT IN DISPUTE

At the beginning of 1992 Frank Peterson was the principal of Paul Elementary School. He had a contract to serve as principal which was annually reviewed by the District on the basis of written evaluation of his performance being submitted by the Superintendent's office to the Board of Trustees of the District (the Board). For fifteen years the evaluations had been favorable, and his contract as principal had been renewed. In January 1992 Peterson informed Robert L. Pavlock, one of two Assistant Superintendents, that he was contemplating home schooling for his children. That communication began the series of events culminating in this lawsuit.

The Petersons are the parents of twelve children. In January 1992 eight were between the ages of 7 and 16 and so of age to attend public schools; four were below seven. None of the eight was enrolled in Paul Elementary School, but were enrolled in other public schools. Priscilla Peterson was a homemaker whose work was her own home. Under Idaho law attendance at a public, private, or parochial school was compulsory, unless the child was "otherwise comparably instructed, as may be determined by the board of trustees of the school district in which the child resides." Idaho Code § 33-202 (1991).

Pavlock informed the Petersons that they needed to submit information to the Board so that the Board could determine whether the children would be comparably educated at home. The Superintendent's office also informed the Board that the Superintendent was neutral as to the Petersons' proposed choice. On February 14, 1992, Peterson received his annual evaluation, indicating that his performance was satisfactory with the exception of two areas, irrelevant to this suit, that could stand improvement. The evaluation did not refer to the matter of home schooling. On February 18, 1992, however, when the Board met with each school administrator, the matter came up in discussion with the Board, and the decision was taken by Superintendent Michael Bishop and the Board "to delay [their] actual rehiring until [they] could further investigate what Frank's intentions were."

Thereafter, the rumor spread through the school district that the Petersons would be getting into home schooling. Teresa Lowder and Helen Wyant, the co-presidents of the teachers' association and themselves teachers at Paul Elementary, called on Superintendent Bishop and told him that Frank Peterson had met with his faculty and told them what he was thinking of doing and why, and that after the meeting there was "quite a turmoil amongst the staff." They added that the teachers at Heyburn School had felt "betrayed" or "disappointed" by a decision which affected the Peterson children in public school at Heyburn. The school secretary at Paul Elementary took around 25 telephone calls during the period February through May 1992 from parents critical of what they understood their principal's plan to be. Individual members of the Board also received calls from parents or teachers. None of the critics filed formal or written complaints. Neither the Board members nor the Superintendent's office nor the school secretary made a written record of the calls or kept the names of the complainers. The Superintendent's office did draw the inference that home schooling by the Petersons would engender a loss of confidence in the principal as a leader at his school. Superintendent Bishop believed Peterson was not doing his job because he was not dealing with the reason why people were concerned.

Bishop also believed on the basis of his own experience as a principal that Frank Peterson could not do his job as a principal, a job that required him to be available some evenings as well as during the day, and home school his children; and Bishop did not see how Priscilla Peterson, unaided, could home school eight children of different ages. The Petersons had not submitted any information in response to Assistant Superintendent Pavlock's request for information on their planned curriculum.

Bishop visited, as he put it, with Peterson about his interest in home schooling and his reason for thinking of doing it. Bishop learned that "it was purely a reason to educate his kids with an aspect of God being the creator in all of the classes that they would teach." Peterson added that "he felt that that was not obtainable in the school."

On May 6, 1992, Assistant Superintendent Pavlock wrote Peterson: "In light of your verbal notification to me that your children will be home schooled for the 1992-93 school year a professional assignment change will be made." The change was to move Peterson to "an elementary teaching position."

The decision to reassign was the responsibility of the Superintendent subject to review by the Board. Peterson was asked to meet with the Board in an executive session on May 19, 1992. The minutes of the meeting run, in relevant part, as follows:

Frank Peterson, Principal, Paul Elementary was asked into the executive session. A discussion followed regarding Mr. Peterson taking his children out of school to teach them at home. The board is concerned about Mr. Peterson's effectiveness as a principal when the staff is extremely distressed and concerned, feeling that they aren't good enough to teach the principal's children. Mr. Peterson expressed that he would like to have an administrator's contract and that he thought he would like legal counsel regarding his civil rights. Superintendent Bishop commented that the board is not saying you are going to lose your job, but the board does have the right to reassign. A discussion followed. Chairman Elison concluded that it is a tough decision on both parts, that no decision has been made and hopefully it can be resolved in the best interest of both parties. Mr. Peterson was excused from the executive session. The board then gave direction to Roger Ling to write a letter to Mr. Peterson asking that he state his intentions within ten (10) days.

A letter to Peterson as directed by the Board was drafted, signed, and sent by Roger Ling, the Board's counsel. Ling concluded: "After the school district has received official notice from you as to your intentions, the Board of Trustees will determine whether or not a contract will be offered to you as a school administrator or reassigned as a teacher." On June 1, 1992, Peterson replied: "I feel that the information the Board requested in the letter is personal and private information. I believe that the information requested should not be relevant to a decision by the Board of Trustees regarding my employment status. I choose not to divulge the information requested."

On June 4, 1992, the District offered a teaching assignment to Peterson. He rejected it. Bishop met with him and urged him to take a teaching post and file a grievance if he felt unfairly treated. Peterson did not accept this advice.

Peterson sought employment in three other school districts but was offered nothing. In August 1992 he began a truck-driving job, in which he earned $3,990 through December 1992. He applied to 30 to 40 other employers without success. He then invested in the purchase of three trucks and began a trucking business that ceased to be viable after Christmas 1993. His income and status in the community had visibly changed since his reassignment and discharge from Paul Elementary.

PROCEEDINGS

On August 31, 1992, the Petersons filed this suit in the district court against the District, the members of the Board, the Superintendent and two Assistant Superintendents, naming all the individuals both in their official and individual capacities. The suit alleged causes of action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and under Idaho law. After the taking The Petersons were granted summary judgment on Count Three, that their freedom of religion had been violated by the District, and on Count Four, that their constitutional right as parents to direct their children's education had been violated. Building on these holdings, the court also granted summary judgment on Count One, the Petersons' claim that the District had denied Frank Peterson procedural due process. On Count Six, the Petersons' claim of breach of contract, and on Count Eight, breach of the implied covenants of good faith and fair dealing, they were also awarded summary judgment. At the same time, the court ruled in favor of the District on Count Two, violation of Frank Peterson's freedom of speech; Count...

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