Eck v. Oley Valley Sch. Dist.
| Decision Date | 15 August 2019 |
| Docket Number | CIVIL ACTION NO. 19-1873 |
| Parties | JORDAN ECK, et al. v. OLEY VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT, et al |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania |
We now turn to ongoing drama in the Oley Valley high school. This he said-she said drama escalated into a constitutional issue when the public high school's music director, school district superintendent, and high school principal suspended or removed the drama club president and two other student-actors shortly after they (and others) expressed concerns with the music director's leadership to the School Board. Much chit-chat, closed meetings, hurt feelings, and insults immediately followed. Within a couple days, the school district superintendent and high school principal suspended the drama club president and one of his friends for insubordination. The third friend apparently remained in school. But following the play's closing night after-party, the music director enlisted three other adults to remove the third friend from the school gymnasium. The three students sued the school district, superintendent, principal, and music director. The defendants seek to dismiss part of the students' claims. Alas, the drama continues as we cannot dismiss the First or Fourteenth Amendment claims based on allegations we must assume are true. We dismiss the claims against the individual school officials with no alleged involvement in the retaliatory conduct or in their official capacity. The students also fail to plead facts reaching the egregious level of conduct necessary for an intentional infliction of emotional distress claim.
Students Jordan Eck and Haley Hartline joined their high school drama club at Oley Valley High School.1 At some point before 2019, Student Eck became president of the drama club.2 In early 2019, the high school's music director Stacey Lyons cast Students Eck and Hartline in the upcoming spring play.3
At some point in planning the Spring 2019 play, Students Eck and Hartline and their parents raised concerns to school administrators about Music Director Lyons's direction.4 The school administrators refused to respond to these concerns.5 Student Eck planned to raise his concerns about Music Director Lyons at a March 20, 2019 School Board meeting.6 Music Director Lyons learned of Student Eck's plans to tell the School Board of his concerns.7 The day before the meeting, with school superintendent Dr. Tracy Shank's approval, Music Director Lyons emailed the drama club parents representing Student Eck and his mother caused problems for the play and Student Eck, as president of the drama club, planned to speak up against Music Director Lyons at the March 20, 2019 School Board meeting.8 Music Director Lyons claimed Student Eck's plans risked "destroying the school show" and Student Eck, as drama club president, wanted "to have the school show done away with completely."9 Music Director Lyons's email to the students and parents also represented Student Eck "had expressed dangerous and violent tendencies toward his classmates and . . . his violent tendencies had gotten so bad that 'the police were called in.'"10
Shortly before the School Board meeting, Music Director Lyons allowed students in play rehearsal to leave early as they planned to speak positively about her at the meeting.11 The School Board announced at the outset of its meeting it would not allow "character assassination" of Music Director Lyons and would only tolerate positive comments about her.12 The School Board also warned speakers not to use names.13 Students Eck, Hartline, and Vincent Ferrizzi—another castmember—and several parents and alumni spoke out against Music Director Lyons specifically raising concerns about her leadership of the school play.14 Other students spoke in favor of her.15 The School Board's restrictions "severely curtailed [Students Eck, Hartline, and Ferrizzi's] ability to speak their viewpoints about the situation as it had developed in regards to the school show."16
After the School Board meeting, students who spoke positively about Music Director Lyons returned to play rehearsal.17 Music Director Lyons locked the doors and asked the students what people said about her at the meeting.18 Music Director Lyons then unlocked the doors and Students Eck, Hartline, and Ferrizzi returned to rehearsal.19 Student Eck asked to privately speak with Music Director Lyons.20 Music Director Lyons brought school secretary Maria Jones and staff member Ms. Hartenstine to stand with her since she was "uncomfortable with speaking with [Student Eck] privately."21 Music Director Lyons and Ms. Hartenstine occasionally raised their voices during the conversation but no one made moves toward each other.22 Student Eck left the conversation believing Music Director Lyons and he would finish the show with "mutual respect."23
The next day, Superintendent Shank and the high school principal Christopher Becker met with Student Eck.24 Superintendent Shank and Principal Becker suspended Student Eck for "insubordination" for threatening Ms. Hartenstine the day before.25 Ms. Hartenstine told Superintendent Shank and Principal Becker Student Eck "lunged at her."26 Superintendent Shank and Principal Becker did not allow Student Eck to call or cross-examine witnesses during the meeting.27 Superintendent Shank and Principal Becker suspended Student Eck for three days and removed him both from the drama club president role and from the play.28
The same day, Superintendent Shank told the other cast members they could no longer discuss Music Director Lyons's leadership.29 He said students could "leave right now" if they had a problem with his directive.30
Student Hartline quit the play while Superintendent Shank spoke.31 Several days later, the school suspended Student Hartline for insubordination.32 The school issued Students Eck and Hartline Level Three suspensions for insubordination.33 The Oley Valley High School Student Handbook does not include "insubordination" as a Level Three violation.34
During the after-party following the play's last performance on April 13, 2019, Music Director Lyons told each student something positive about the student's performance in front of the entire cast.35 But she told Student Ferrizzi she "would never forgive him for what he had said about her at the School Board Meeting" and she "expected him to 'grow' from the 'mistakes' he had made at the School Board Meeting."36 Music Director Lyons allowed another student to speak negatively about Students Eck, Hartline, and Ferrizzi with profanity.37 After the party, Music Director Lyons called Student Ferrizzi into the gymnasium and told him she "had spoken with [Superintendent] Shank, and that they had agreed that it was 'best for everyone' if he was removed from the premises."38 Three unidentified parents walked Student Ferrizzi off the premises.39
Students Eck, Hartline, and Ferrizzi sued the Oley Valley School District and Superintendent Shank, Principal Becker, and Music Director Lyons in their individual and official capacities for First Amendment retaliation and due process violations under the Fourteenth Amendment.41 They allege Defendants suspended or removed them from school without due process because they expressed concerns about Music Director Lyons's leadership of the school play before and at the March 20, 2019 School Board meeting. They sue Superintendent Shank forfailing to supervise the protection of their First Amendment rights. Student Eck sues Music Director Lyons for defamation. Students Eck, Hartline, and Ferrizzi sue Music Director Lyons for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Defendants move to dismiss Students' First Amendment retaliation claims for failure to state a claim. Superintendent Shank, Principal Becker, and Music Director Lyons move to dismiss Students' official capacity claims against them for First Amendment retaliation and Fourteenth Amendment due process violations as duplicative of Students' claims against the School District. Music Director Lyons moves to dismiss Students' claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The School District, Superintendent Shank, Principal Becker, and Music Director Lyons move to dismiss the First Amendment retaliation claims arguing Students (1) fail to plead constitutionally protected conduct and (2) fail to plead a "causal link" between the alleged speech and the punishment.
To state a First Amendment retaliation claim, Students must allege "(1) constitutionally protected conduct, (2) retaliatory action sufficient to deter a person of ordinary firmness from exercising his constitutional rights, and (3) a causal link between the constitutionally protected conduct and the retaliatory action."42
Defendants argue Students Eck, Hartline, and Ferrizzi fail to sufficiently identify the speech to determine whether it is constitutionally protected. Defendants argue less protection is afforded student speech and, without knowing what the Students said at the March 20, 2019 School Board meeting, their speech "may have been the type of student speech that is not protected, i.e. speech that would substantially disrupt school operations or interfere with the right of others."43Defendants further argue it is "unclear" from the allegations of the Amended Complaint "what [Students] said would even possibly be anything that would possibly engender retaliatory actions by Defendants given the alleged restrictions in place at the board meeting."44 We disagree.
The First Amendment provides "Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech."45 The First Amendment's Free Speech Clause is applicable to the States under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.46 "A fundamental principle of the First Amendment is that all persons have access to places where they can speak and listen, and then, after...
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