Lee v. York County School Div.

• Decision Date: 02 May 2007
• Docket Number: No. 06-1363.,06-1363.
• Citation: 484 F.3d 687
• Parties: William LEE, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. YORK COUNTY SCHOOL DIVISION; Steven R. Staples, In his official capacity as Superintendent of the York County School Division; York County School Board; R. Page Minter; Barbara S. Haywood; Linda Meadows; Mark A. Medford; Barrent M. Henry, In their official capacity as members of the Board of Education for York County, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

484 F.3d 687

William LEE, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. YORK COUNTY SCHOOL DIVISION; Steven R. Staples, In his official capacity as Superintendent of the York County School Division; York County School Board; R. Page Minter; Barbara

S. Haywood; Linda Meadows; Mark A. Medford; Barrent M. Henry, In their official capacity as members of the Board of Education for York County, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 06-1363.

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.

Argued November 30, 2006.

Decided May 2, 2007.

ARGUED:

Gary Alvin Bryant, Willcox & Savage, Norfolk, Virginia, for Appellant. Robert William McFarland, McGuirewoods, LLP, Norfolk, Virginia, for Appellees.

ON BRIEF:

Steve C. Taylor, Chesapeake, Virginia, for Appellant. Steven R. Zahn, McGuirewoods, LLP, Norfolk, Virginia; William H. Baxter, II, Erin M. Sine, McGuirewoods, LLP, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellees.

Before KING and SHEDD, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge.

Affirmed by published opinion. Judge KING wrote the opinion, in which Judge SHEDD and Senior judge HAMILTON concur.

OPINION

KING, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiff William Lee appeals from the district court's award of summary judgment to the York County, Virginia, School Board, five members of the County's Board of Education, and the County's School Superintendent (collectively, the "School Board" or the "Board") on his § 1983 free speech claim. See Lee v. York County Sch. Div., 418 F.Supp.2d 816 (E.D.Va.2006) (the "Opinion"). Lee, who teaches high school in York County, initiated this suit in the Eastern District of Virginia in August 2005, maintaining that the School Board had violated his rights under the First Amendment's Free Speech Clause by removing materials he had posted on the bulletin boards in his classroom. In its February 23, 2006 Opinion, the district court rejected Lee's claim, concluding that his postings were curricular in nature and thus did not constitute speech on a matter of public concern. In substance, Lee maintains on appeal that he possesses a First Amendment right to post his materials on the classroom bulletin boards. This contention is contrary to the relevant precedent and, as explained below, we affirm.

I.

A.

In 2001, Lee began teaching Spanish at Tabb High School, a public high school operated by the School Board in Yorktown, Virginia.¹ Prior to his assignment at Tabb High, Lee had been employed by the School Board for about a year, as a teacher at a York County middle school. Sometime in October 2004, an employee of the School Board received a complaint from a private citizen who expressed concern over certain materials posted on the bulletin boards within Lee's classroom.² The crux of the citizen's complaint was that some of Lee's postings were overly religious in nature. After receiving the complaint, the School Board asked Crispin Zanca, the Principal of Tabb High, to investigate the matter. As Principal, it is Zanca's obligation to ensure that teachers adhere to the Board's curriculum guidelines and policies.

On October 19, 2004, after speaking with the School Board about the complaint regarding Lee, Zanca proceeded to Lee's classroom to discuss the matter with him. Lee was absent from school that day, however, and Zanca examined the materials posted on the bulletin boards in his absence. In so doing, Zanca discovered certain items that, in his view, should not have been posted in a compulsory classroom setting. Specifically, he testified that he "could not find any reason why [these items] would be posted in a classroom." J.A. 161.³ Zanca removed five items (collectively, the "Removed Items" or the "Items") from Lee's bulletin boards: (1) a 2001 National Day of Prayer poster, featuring George Washington kneeling in prayer; (2) a May 15, 2004, Daily Press news article entitled "The God Gap," outlining religious and philosophical differences between President Bush and his challenger John Kerry; (3) an October 14, 2002, USA Today news article entitled "White House Staffers Gather for Bible Study," describing how then Attorney General Ashcroft led staffers in voluntary Bible study sessions; (4) a November 1, 2001, Daily Press news article, detailing the missionary activities of a former Virginia high school student, Veronica Bowers, who had been killed when her plane was shot down in South America; and (5) a June 2001 Peninsula Rescue Mission newsletter, highlighting the missionary work of Bowers.⁴ Zanca placed the Removed Items on Lee's desk in the teachers' lounge and left an explanatory note in Lee's school mailbox.

In his deposition for this case, Zanca testified that neither Tabb High School nor the School Board has any written policies on what a teacher may properly post on classroom walls or bulletin boards. Zanca explained, however, that there is an applicable unwritten policy, custom, and practice for York County teachers in that regard, authorizing teachers to place materials on bulletin boards that relate to the curriculum being taught or that are of personal interest to them. For example, some teachers place famous quotes, articles on current events, and pictures of sports figures on the bulletin boards of their classrooms. Zanca explained that, as a general matter, he has always relied on the sound judgment of Tabb High's teachers as to what materials should be posted in their classrooms.

Although there is no written policy on the posting or removal of classroom materials, Zanca explained that his duties as Principal include the monitoring of such postings, as well as the removal of any postings that are inappropriate for the school setting. In determining whether any particular item should be removed, the School Board has accorded its principals broad discretion to evaluate and decide which postings are appropriate for a particular classroom setting. Zanca testified that the teachers at Tabb High have always understood that any postings contradicting the unwritten policy are subject to removal. Under the unwritten policy, inappropriate postings include items that violate the First Amendment, that are offensive, that use profanity, or that are otherwise unrelated to curricular objectives. In evaluating whether a particular posting is subject to removal, Zanca primarily assesses whether it is relevant to the curriculum being taught by the particular teacher.⁵ He testified that, although certain materials may be inappropriate if posted generally, they could well be appropriate when used in connection with a specific curricular objective. For example, some current events postings may only be appropriate when used in a classroom where history or government courses are taught.

When Zanca first viewed the Removed Items, he saw that certain of the postings prominently included religious terms such as "Bible" or "God." Although Zanca did not read any of the articles in their entirety, he exercised his discretion as Principal on the five Removed Items because he saw them as overly religious and thus violative of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.⁶ Aside from his determination that the postings might be legally problematic, Zanca believed the Removed Items to be irrelevant to the Spanish curricular objectives that Lee was obliged to follow within his classroom.

When Lee returned to Tabb High three days later, he found the Removed Items on his desk and Zanca's note in his mailbox. Lee promptly discussed the matter with Zanca, who explained that he had received a citizen's complaint about postings in Lee's classroom. Zanca informed Lee that the Removed Items were taken down because they were inappropriate in a Spanish classroom. Lee thereafter retained a lawyer, who wrote to the Board Superintendent requesting permission for Lee to repost the Removed Items. Following an investigation by the Board's counsel, Lee's request to repost was denied.

During his deposition, Lee agreed that the School Board has no written policies concerning what can be appropriately posted on classroom bulletin boards. He acknowledged the existence of an unwritten Board policy, practice, and custom, however, that allows teachers to post materials related to curricular objectives, or to post materials of a general and personal nature that are consistent with the educational mission of Tabb High. Lee denied placing the Removed Items on the bulletin boards to endorse his own faith, did not believe that the Items were related to any particular Spanish curricular objective, and had not referred to any of them while teaching. When asked why he had posted the Removed Items, Lee explained that he had posted each of them either because he liked it or because it was uplifting. He also explained that a teacher could post most anything in a classroom and make it relevant to the curriculum being taught. He said that schoolteachers often use creative materials to catch and retain the attention of students.

Lee also acknowledged that he had posted the Removed Items because they were, in his opinion, "positive and good for the kids." J.A. 53. Because of his position as a teacher, Lee felt responsible for more than just the academic well-being of his students. He stated, "I'm accountable in that classroom for [the students'] welfare and their attitudes and their feelings, which are sensitive and fluctuate daily, and I find the hope embodied in some images to be beneficial." Id. For example, with respect to the poster of George Washington, Lee testified that it contained "a positive figure and good for every classroom in the school." Id. at 103. With respect to the article on Attorney General Ashcroft, Lee explained it might be helpful to a student seeking hope and inspiration. See id. at 61. Finally, with respect to the Peninsular Rescue Mission newsletter, Lee said that it was posted to encourage students not to be ashamed of their faith and because it dealt with an eastern Virginia high school student who had studied Spanish. See id. at 68-69.

B.

On August 11, 2005...