Curry v. School Dist. of the City of Saginaw
| Decision Date | 18 September 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 04-10143.,04-10143. |
| Parties | Joel CURRY, a minor, by and through his parents Paul and Melanie CURRY, Plaintiffs, v. SCHOOL DISTRICT OF THE CITY OF SAGINAW, and Irene Hensinger, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan |
Jeffrey A. Shafer, Alliance Defense Fund, Washington, DC, Michael J.. Beale, Handlon, Eastman, Midland, MI, for Plaintiffs.
Philip A. Erickson, Plunkett & Cooney, East Lansing, MI, for Defendants.
The parents of Joel Curry, a fifth-grade student at a public school in Saginaw, Michigan, became upset at Joel's teachers who would not let him display a Christian message on a school project. Taking offense at this perceived slight, they filed a federal lawsuit against the school district and the grade school principal alleging that Joel's constitutional rights were violated. The parties have filed cross motions for summary judgment. The United States filed a brief amicus curie on Joel's behalf. The Court heard oral argument on October 6, 2005. The Court now finds that although the defendants did not violate Joel's constitutional rights under the Fourteenth Amendment or the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, the actions did abridge Joel's First Amendment speech rights. However, the plaintiffs have not demonstrated that the school district failed to train its personnel in dealing with such issues or otherwise established municipal liability. In addition, the Court finds that the school principal is entitled to qualified immunity. Finally, the request for declaratory and injunctive relief is moot. Therefore, the Court will deny the plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment, grant the defendants' motion for summary judgment, and dismiss the case with prejudice.
The parties have stipulated to the facts of this case, which are summarized as follows:
Joel Curry, the plaintiff in this matter through his parents, was a fifth grade student at the Handley School in Saginaw, Michigan during the 2003-2004 academic year. At the time, Bridgitte Benjamin was Joel's homeroom teacher, Lisa Sweebe was his social studies instructor, and Shelly Dawson was his mathematics teacher. As part of the fifth grade curriculum, students participate in an exercise called "Classroom City." Classroom City takes a multi-disciplinary approach to learning by incorporating lessons on literature, marketing, government, civics, economics, and mathematics. The exercise culminates in a three-day event held in the school's gymnasium.
Sweebe, who manages the exercise, sent out packets describing the assignments to students and their parents in early November. The 2003 Classroom City event, which provoked the controversy here, was held on December 11, 12, and 16, 2003. The guidelines for assignment stated:
You will need to create, market, and sell a product for the simulation Class Room City.
• You cannot sell or use food products.
• You cannot play or sell games of chance.
• Your product must be something that is handmade.
• Materials and supplies cannot exceed $10.00 in cost.
• You can sell as many as three different products.
• You will need a sample of your product(s) to do an all[-]school market survey. You will receive more details from your math teacher concerning the market survey.
• Your market analysis will help you determine how much inventory you will need to start your business.
• Remember as you prepare for your business that part of the spirit of the competition is to have a product that stands out from all the others.
Stip. Facts Ex. 1, Classroom City Project Guidelines. The assignment also asked students to construct a fictitious city in the gymnasium from cardboard refrigerator boxes. The students then elected a mayor, city counsel members, several sheriffs, and a postmaster. The students, either by themselves or with a partner, constructed a storefront and made products to sell during the three-day event. They also drew up a description of their products in order to purchase a business license. Students advertised their products in the Classroom City newspaper. Students received a fixed amount of fictitious money to purchase advertising, pay for their business licences, and settle any fines assessed by the elected sheriffs.
Before a product could be approved for sale, students were required to conduct a market survey in advance of the event. Participants created a prototype of their products, and one-third of the student body decided which products they might purchase at the event. During the actual three-day event, the entire student body, under the supervision of the physical education instructor, attended Classroom City and made purchases at the mock storefronts with fictitious script. The stores were monitored to see which one had the most money at the end of the exercise.
Apparently unable to generate his own idea, Joel took the suggestion of his mother and decided to make ornaments made out of pipe cleaners and beads in the likeness of candy canes. Joel's father offered to create cards to attach to the ornaments after finding a glass candy-cane-like ornament in their home that came with a religious conjuration of its symbolism. Joel's father evidently had given out the glass candy cane ornaments at work. However, when Joel submitted his ornament prototype for the market survey, he did not attach the card his father offered to make.
Sometime after the market survey was completed, Joel added the card to the ornaments he planned to sell during Classroom City. The card read:
The Meaning of the Candy Cane
Hard Candy: Reminds us that Jesus is like a "rock," strong and dependable.
The Color Red: Is for God's love that sent Jesus to give his life for us on the cross.
The Stripes: Remind us of Jesus' suffering—his crown of thorns, the wounds in his hands and feet; and the cross on which he died.
Peppermint Flavor: Is like the gift of spices from the wise men.
White Candy: Stands for Jesus as the holy, sinless Son of God.
Cane: Is like a staff used by shepherds in caring for sheep. Jesus leads us and watches over us when we Trust him.
The Letter "J": Is for the Name of Jesus, Our Lord & Savior, born on Christmas day Stipulated Facts at ¶ 11. Joel and his parents brought the ornaments to school a few days prior to the event; however, they did not alert school administrators to the addition of the card. Nonetheless, Joel was not fined by the elected "sheriffs" during subsequent inspections.
Joel's partner for the exercise was a child of Asian Indian descent, Siddarth Reddy. The two decided that Siddarth would prepare the storefront and Joel would prepare the products to sell. When Siddarth learned of the card, he informed Joel that "[n]obody wants to hear about Jesus." Stipulated Facts at ¶ 15. Siddarth subsequently decided to make his own products for sale, resulting in his bearing the burden of constructing both the storefront and the product. During the event itself, Joel manned the storefront during the morning hours and Siddarth during the afternoon.
On December 11, 2003, the first day of the Classroom City event, Jennifer Harris, the gym teacher and student supervisor of Classroom City, sought the counsel of Lisa Sweebe, the event manager, when she discovered that Joel was "selling religious items." Stipulated Facts at ¶ 17. Sweebe proceeded to Joel's storefront to see what Joel was selling. Joel showed Sweebe his ornament with the attached card. Sweebe asked Joel if the card had been attached at the time of the market survey, and Joel indicated that it had not. Sweebe then looked at Joel's business license and noted that the ornament with the card fell within the product's description. Although Joel was not subject to a fine on that basis, Sweebe told Joel that he could not sell the card until she had a chance to talk with the principal, Irene Hensinger. She further stated that he had done nothing wrong, but she was concerned about the card's religious content and whether other students might be offended. For the rest of the day, Joel sold his ornaments without the card.
Sweebe initially was unable to locate Hensinger and left a message to speak with her. Around 12:20 p.m., Joel's mother arrived at the school. After learning that Joel was not allowed to sell the ornament with the attachment, she spoke to Sweebe. She told Sweebe that the use of the cards fell within Joel's constitutional rights as a student. Joel's mother indicated that she would bring in some literature regarding his rights; Sweebe agreed to review it and pass it along to Hensinger. Joel's mother stated that she knew the card had not been attached to the prototype at the time of the market survey.
Later that afternoon, Sweebe left a note for Hensinger, which contained a copy of the card's content along with the question, Stipulated Facts at ¶ 24. Eventually, Sweebe discussed the matter with Hensinger; Sweebe also provided Hensinger the information that Joel's mother furnished. Hennsiger, in turn, passed the information on to Dr. John Norwood, the assistant superintendent for school performance.
That evening at home, Joel told his mother that he wished to sell the ornaments with the card so that others could learn about Jesus. His mother believed that Joel had a constitutional right to sell the pipe-cleaner candy canes with the attachment. On December 12, 2003, Joel's mother placed a copy of an article written by attorney Mathew Stayer entitled "Students' Rights on Public School Campuses" in Sweebe's school mailbox. She include a note informing Sweebe, ...
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