Bailey v. Mansfield Indep. Sch. Dist.

• Citation: 425 F.Supp.3d 696
• Decision Date: 21 November 2019
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 3:18-cv-1161-L
• Parties: Stacy BAILEY, Plaintiff, v. MANSFIELD INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT; Dr. Jim Vaszauskas; and Dr. Kimberly Cantu, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Texas

425 F.Supp.3d 696

Stacy BAILEY, Plaintiff,

v.MANSFIELD INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT; Dr. Jim Vaszauskas; and Dr. Kimberly Cantu, Defendants.

Civil Action No. 3:18-cv-1161-L

United States District Court, N.D. Texas, Dallas Division.

Signed November 21, 2019

Jason C.N. Smith, Law Offices of Jason Smith, Fort Worth, TX, for Plaintiff.

Thomas E. Myers, Kevin C. Smith, Brackett & Ellis PC, Fort Worth, TX, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

Sam A. Lindsay, United States District Judge

Before the court is Defendants' Rule 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss and Brief in Support (Doc. 14), filed October 2, 2018. Having considered the motion, response, reply, pleadings, and applicable law, and for the reasons that follow, the court denies in part and grants in part Defendants' Rule 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 14).

I. Factual Background and Procedural History

In this civil action, Plaintiff Stacy Bailey ("Bailey"), an elementary school art teacher employed by the Mansfield Independent School District ("Mansfield I.S.D."), asserts federal law claims pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and state law claims against Defendants Mansfield I.S.D.; its Superintendent, Dr. Jim Vaszauskas ("Superintendent Vaszauskas"); and its Associate Superintendent for Human Resources, Dr. Kimberly Cantu ("Dr. Cantu"). Bailey alleges Defendants violated her rights to equal protection and due process under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution by unlawfully discriminating against her because of her sexual orientation and status as a lesbian, including stigmatizing her, making false allegations that she was engaging in unprofessional acts, placing her on an eight-month administrative suspension, and eventually transferring her to a different school after she allegedly shared a photograph of her same-sex fiancé along with other family photographs with second-grade students and mentioned to her fourth-grade students that a certain artist was married to someone of the same sex. Bailey further alleges Defendants' actions burdened her constitutionally protected right to marry. In addition, Bailey brings state law claims against Defendants for alleged violations of the Equal Protection Clause of the Texas Constitution, Article I, § 3, and the Texas Equal Rights Amendment, Article I, § 3a.

The court now sets out the allegations upon which it relies in deciding the pending motion to dismiss, accepting all well-pleaded facts in the complaint as true and viewing them in the light most favorable to Bailey. Sonnier v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. , 509 F.3d 673, 675 (5th Cir. 2007). The facts are drawn from Plaintiff's First Amended Complaint ("Complaint"), the live pleading. See First Am. Compl. (Doc. 13).

Bailey is a teacher with Mansfield I.S.D. who taught art for ten years at Charlotte Anderson Elementary School. Bailey "is lesbian/gay and was born that way." Id. ¶ 15. Mansfield I.S.D. repeatedly gave Bailey exemplary performance evaluations and, for two of her ten years, selected her as "Teacher of the Year." Bailey was open about her sexual orientation at work among her colleagues but never used sexual or mature terms with her students.

On August 23, 2017, while providing an introduction to a class in the form of a "First Day of School" PowerPoint, Bailey shared various photographs of her parents, her family, her "future wife," her best friends, and pictures of herself as a child in an effort to engage the students. "The photo of [Bailey's] future wife was an endearing photo of [her] and her future wife dressed as characters from the children's movie ‘Finding Nemo.’ " Id. ¶ 17. Bailey also showed her second-grade students slides providing class rules, rewards, and expectations for the year. Other teachers, administrators, and employees of Mansfield I.S.D. "who are heterosexual regularly mention their respective spouse[s] while in school, have photos of their famil[ies], fiancés and spouses in the work place, or reference their famil[ies], fiancés and spouse[s] as part of conversations with students, lessons, or other classroom-related interactions." Id. ¶ 14.

Later that week, the principal of Charlotte Anderson Elementary School informed Bailey that a parent complained to the school board and Superintendent Vaszauskas about her "promoting the ‘homosexual agenda’ by discussing her ‘future wife.’ " Id. ¶ 18. The principal stated, "I don't think you did anything wrong but I don't know what's going to happen." Id. On or about August 25, 2017, Dr. Cantu met with Bailey to discuss the parent's complaint, stating, "You can't promote your lifestyle in the classroom." Id. ¶ 19. Bailey responded, "We plan to get married. When I have a wife, I should be able to say this is my wife without fear of harassment. When I state that, it is a fact about my life, not a political statement." Id. Dr. Cantu responded, "Well right now it kind of is (a political statement)." Id. When Bailey inquired about changing policy to keep this from happening again, Dr. Cantu said, "You are right. It is time to get the ball rolling on that. You need to realize this is Mansfield and there could be some pushback." Id. ¶ 20. Dr. Cantu told Bailey she had done nothing wrong. That same evening, Bailey sent an e-mail to Mansfield I.S.D. requesting it enact a policy prohibiting discrimination against lesbians and gays.

Bailey had "a [ ]holistic approach to teaching about artists and relevant art history. [She] taught about artist Jasper Johns and mentioned he served in the Korean War and he had a partner named Robert Rauchenberg, who was also an artist." Id. ¶ 24. This mirrored her lesson plan for the prior year and "reflects a basic historical fact that is reflected in encyclopedic sources and federal publications, such as a study by the U.S. Department of the Interior." Id. Bailey also taught about other artists and their partners, including Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Id.

On September 8, 2017, Dr. Cantu took Bailey out of her class for a meeting and informed her that another parent had complained. Id. ¶ 23. This complaint was from the same parent who made the previous complaint. Id. Dr. Cantu explained to Bailey that the complaining parent stated Bailey had shown sexually inappropriate images to children and asked her to sign a document acknowledging that she had. Id. ¶ 25. Bailey did not show sexually inappropriate images to children and refused to sign the document. Id. Bailey stated to Dr. Cantu, "This is discrimination. This is wrong and it might even be illegal. I'm not signing it." Id.

Since September 8, 2017, Mansfield I.S.D. has punished Bailey by placing her on administrative leave for over eight months. Id. ¶ 26. On October 30, 2017, Mansfield I.S.D. asked Bailey for her resignation, but she refused to resign. Id. ¶ 28. On January 9, 2018, Dr. Cantu and Mansfield I.S.D.'s attorney Mike Leasor met with Bailey and suggested she had an "agenda." Bailey stated she had no agenda and was ready to go back to work at Charlotte Anderson Elementary. Id. ¶ 29. In late January 2018, Mansfield I.S.D. first indicated it might not renew Bailey's contract. Id. ¶ 30.

Beginning in February 2018, parents began to attend meetings of Mansfield I.S.D.'s Board of Trustees asking that Bailey be returned to the classroom because she was an outstanding teacher. This was embarrassing for Mansfield I.S.D. and Superintendent Vaszauskas. Id. ¶ 31.

On March 16, 2018, Bailey married her now-wife, Ms. Julie Vazquez. Id. ¶ 32. On March 27, 2018, Mansfield I.S.D., with the approval of its Board of Trustees and Superintendent Vaszauskas, issued an official statement for immediate release, id. ¶ 33, stating:

It is the responsibility of Mansfield ISD to protect the learning environment of our students. We also believe it is paramount to partner with our parents in the education of their children. Therefore, parents have the right to control the conversation with their children as it relates to religion, politics, sex/sexual orientation, etc.

Further, it is the District's general rule not to comment on employee personnel matters. This protects both the employee and the District. However, with regard to elementary school art teacher Stacy Bailey, the District now finds itself in a situation in which misinformation about her personnel matter and the resulting disruption of the campus educational environment leads the District to comment.

The District's concerns regarding Ms. Bailey are not about her request to have our nondiscrimination policies reviewed and/or revised with regard to LGBTQ rights. Mansfield ISD welcomes that discussion through the District's established policy review committee. Rather, the District's concern is that Ms. Bailey insists that it is her right and that it is age appropriate for her to have ongoing discussions with elementary-aged students about her own sexual orientation, the sexual orientation of artists, and their relationships with other gay artists.

Mansfield ISD received complaints from parents about Ms. Bailey discussing her sexual orientation with elementary-aged students. After receiving the complaints, administration met with the teacher more than once regarding the concerns. However, Ms. Bailey refused to follow administration's directions regarding age-appropriate conversations with students.

Again, this situation is not about Ms. Bailey's inquiries regarding the District's nondiscrimination policies. Rather, it is a matter of parents having certain rights pertaining to the topics to which their children are exposed and the District's right and responsibility to ensure age-appropriate instruction.

Defs.' Rule 12(b)(6) Mot. to Dismiss, Ex. A (Doc. 14) ("Mansfield I.S.D. Press Release").¹

The Mansfield I.S.D. Press Release generated significant public outcry and press about Bailey's employment situation, including public discussions about her sexual orientation and employment status, as well as criticism of Mansfield I.S.D. Am. Compl. ¶ 41. It also coincided with a meeting...