Cole v. Cobb Cnty. Sch. Dist.
| Decision Date | 06 December 2017 |
| Docket Number | CIVIL ACTION FILE NO. 1:17-cv-01378-WSD-AJB |
| Parties | BONNIE COLE, Plaintiff, v. COBB COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT and CHRIS RAGSDALE, Individually and in his capacity as Superintendent of Cobb County School District, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Georgia |
This matter is presently before the Court on a motion to dismiss the complaint, [Doc. 9], and a motion to dismiss the amended complaint, [Doc. 14], both filed by Defendants Cobb County School District ("CCSD") and Cobb County School District Superintendent Chris Ragsdale ("Ragsdale") pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. For the reasons set forth below, the undersigned RECOMMENDS that the motion to dismiss the original complaint be DENIED AS MOOT, [Doc. 9], and that the motion to dismiss the amended complaint be GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART, [Doc. 14].
Plaintiff Bonnie Cole, proceeding through counsel, initiated this action by complaint on April 18, 2017. [Doc. 1]. Defendants timely responded to the complaint on May 11, 2017, with a motion to dismiss. [Doc. 9]. Fourteen days later, on May 25, 2017, Plaintiff filed an amended complaint. [Doc. 11].
Pursuant to Rule 15(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a party may amend her pleading once as a matter of course within twenty-one days after serving it or within twenty-one days after service of a motion under Rule 12(b)(6). Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(1). Plaintiff having filed her amended complaint within twenty-one days after Defendants' first motion to dismiss, the amended complaint was properly filed as a matter of course. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(1)(B); El-Saba v. Univ. of S. Ala., Civ. Action No. 15-00087-KD-N, 2015 WL 5849747, at *5 n.7 (S.D. Ala. Sept. 22, 2015) (). Moreover, Defendants did not object to Plaintiff's having filed the amended complaint as a matter of course. [See Doc. 14-1 at 1 n.1 ()]. The Court therefore accepts the amended complaint, [Doc. 11], as the operative complaint in this matter.
In light of Plaintiff's having filed the amended complaint, the undersigned concludes that the motion to dismiss the original complaint should be denied as moot. [Doc. 9]. Plaintiff's amended complaint supersedes the original complaint. See Malowney v. Fed. Collection Deposit Grp., 193 F.3d 1342, 1345 n.1 (11th Cir. 1999) (); Varnes v. Local 91, Glass Bottle Blowers Ass'n, 674 F.2d 1365, 1370 n.6 (11th Cir. 1982) (). Further, the amended complaint renders moot the motion to dismiss the original complaint because that motion seeks to dismiss a pleading that has been superseded. Fountain v. Hyundai Motor Co., Civ. Action No. 1:15-CV-00446-ELR, 2016 WL 4361528, at *2 (N.D. Ga. Mar. 4, 2016) (Ross, J.) (); Mizzaro v. Home Depot, Inc., No. Civ. A. 1:06-CV-11510, 2007 WL 2254693, at *3 (N.D. Ga. July 18, 2007) (Evans, J.) (). Defendantsalso concede that the amended complaint moots their first motion to dismiss. [Doc. 14-1 at 1 n.1].
Because the motion to dismiss the original complaint seeks to dismiss a pleading that has been superseded, the undersigned RECOMMENDS to the District Judge that he DENY AS MOOT the motion to dismiss the original complaint. [Doc. 9].
On June 8, 2017, Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint in its entirety. [Doc. 14]. On June 22, 2017, Plaintiff filed a response brief in opposition to the motion to dismiss, [Doc. 15], and on July 13, 2017, Defendants filed a reply brief in support of their motion, [Doc. 18].1 With briefing complete, the undersigned now examines the motion and submits this Report and Recommendation ("R&R") for the District Judge's consideration.
Plaintiff began working for CCSD in 1998, as a teacher at Vaughan Elementary School. [Doc. 11 ¶ 11]. In 2004, Plaintiff became Assistant Administrator of Bullard Elementary School. [Id. ¶ 12]. Two years later, in 2006, Plaintiff became Assistant Principal of Bullard Elementary School. [Id. ¶ 13]. Plaintiff is a practicing Christian. [Id. ¶ 15].
During the 2014-2015 school year, Plaintiff and several other teachers implemented breathing and stretching exercises based on yoga3 and meditation4 in classrooms as a way of reducing stress and encouraging relaxation among Bullard's teachers and students. [Id. ¶ 16]. Plaintiff did not consider the techniques to be religious or based in religion. [Id. ¶ 17]. The mindfulness practices consisted ofwell-established techniques used to promote general well-being, facilitate education, and reduce disruptive behaviors. [Id. ¶ 18]. With teacher input, Plaintiff and others also decorated a faculty room with soft lighting, fountains, and peaceful music, and designated it a place where faculty could relax in a quiet environment: where they could "take a few deep breaths, color mandalas,5 or play with kinetic sand." [Id. ¶ 20]. In July 2015, Plaintiff became a licensed reiki practitioner6 and opened a side business offering reiki services to the public, but she did not perform reiki or promote her practice at the school. [Id. ¶¶ 25, 26].
The mindfulness program was similar to programs introduced elsewhere in CCSD, including the Department of Physical Education and the county counseling department. [Id. ¶ 22]. In February 2016, Bullard Elementary sent a newsletter toparents stating that mindfulness practices included "piping music through the hallways," "decorating and painting," "yoga sequences," and "mindful quiet time." [Id. ¶ 19]. After implementing the mindfulness practices, Bullard Elementary documented a thirty-three-percent decrease in disruptive behaviors and policy violations for the period spanning November 2, 2015, through March 4, 2016. [Id. ¶¶ 23-24].
During the 2015-2016 school year, some parents who attended church with Defendant Ragsdale and the Chair of CCSD's board, Randy Scamihorn, made religion-based complaints to Ragsdale about Plaintiff's use of mindfulness practices at Bullard Elementary. [Id. ¶ 27]. Ragsdale expressed his support for the complaints and advised the parents that such information "helps tremendously." [Id. ¶ 28].
On February 29, 2016, CCSD received an anonymous letter complaining about the use of mindfulness practices. [Id. ¶ 29]. Five members of the CCSD board also received the anonymous letter. [Id. ¶ 29]. CCSD then received emails from parents stating, among other things, that Plaintiff was a Buddhist7 trying to indoctrinate theirchildren with Buddhism. [Id. ¶ 30]. Plaintiff was also falsely accused of leading chants in the hallways, placing stones on children in an effort to "heal" them, forcing children to color mandalas green for Buddha, and requiring children to bow to her in hallways. [Id. ¶ 31]. Plaintiff was also accused of attempting to indoctrinate children into Buddhism by reading the book "Peaceful Piggy Meditation," which was written by a Jewish author and does not espouse any particular religion, but merely describes the practice of meditation. [Id. ¶ 33].
Plaintiff denied the allegations, and CCSD's investigations failed to substantiate them. [Id. ¶ 32]. On March 16, 2016, several parents held a prayer rally on the grounds of Bullard Elementary "for Jesus to rid the school of Buddhism." [Id. ¶ 34]. The next day, two women stood outside Plaintiff's office with their hands on her windows, praying. [Id. ¶ 34]. Community members posted selectively chosen and out-of-context passages from Plaintiff's personal business website in an effort to attack her "evil practices," forcing her to take the web page down. [Id. ¶ 35]. Defendants became aware that the controversy attracted national attention from the media, including the Washington Post. [Id. ¶ 36].
Initially, several members of CCSD's administration voiced support for Plaintiff and assured her that the situation was "not her fault" and that she would not be moved. [Id. ¶ 37]. On March 17, 2016, the principal of Bullard Elementary, Patrice Moore, held a meeting—open to all parents—to explain mindfulness and to answer questions. [Id. ¶ 38].
At some time after the meeting, an attendee sent emails to CCSD, Ragsdale, and CCSD's human resources department in which he summarized his concerns and stated that he could not see how the school community could heal if Plaintiff were allowed to stay in her job. [Id. ¶ 39]. During the same period of time, the CCSD board, including Ragsdale, received numerous emails of support from parents, teachers, a school psychologist, speech-language pathologists, and special educators, praising Plaintiff, her work, and the practices of mindfulness and yoga as showing positive results with students. [Id. ¶ 40].
In March 2016, CCSD halted all mindfulness practices at Bullard Elementary and issued a statement to that effect. [Id. ¶ 44]. The statement did not state that the practices were in fact secular or defend Plaintiff against the false accusations. [Id. ¶ 45].
Fearing for her job, Plaintiff asked certain members of CCSD district leadership to support her in defending herself from the false allegations. [Id. ¶ 46]. She also stated to at least two...
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