Galdikas v. Fagan

• Decision Date: 15 August 2003
• Docket Number: No. 02-2210.,02-2210.
• Citation: 342 F.3d 684
• Parties: James GALDIKAS, Catherine Hansen, Carol D. Hedgspeth, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Stuart I. FAGAN, Paula Wolff, Harry Klein, et al., Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

342 F.3d 684

James GALDIKAS, Catherine Hansen, Carol D. Hedgspeth, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Stuart I. FAGAN, Paula Wolff, Harry Klein, et al., Defendants-Appellees.

No. 02-2210.

United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

Argued October 31, 2002.

Decided August 15, 2003.

MOTION FOR STAY OF MANDATE DENIED, October 16, 2003.

Rehearing En Banc Denied September 22, 2003.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Anthony G. Scariano, Paulette A. Petretti (Argued), Scariano, Himes & Petrarca, Chicago, IL, for Plaintiffs-Appellants.

Michael J. Gill, Jeffrey W. Sarles (Argued), Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw, Chicago, IL, for Defendants-Appellees.

Before RIPPLE, MANION and EVANS, Circuit Judges.

RIPPLE, Circuit Judge.

The plaintiffs, a group of former graduate students in the Master of Social Work ("MSW") program at Governor's State University ("GSU"), brought this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against various GSU officers and members of the GSU Board of Trustees (collectively, "the defendants") in their individual capacities. They alleged violations of substantive and procedural due process, as well as conspiracy to prevent the exercise of their First Amendment rights. Finally, they alleged retaliation for the exercise of their First Amendment rights. The plaintiffs also asserted claims under Illinois law for promissory estoppel and fraud. The district court dismissed the plaintiffs' substantive and procedural due process claims with prejudice and granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants on the plaintiffs' First Amendment conspiracy and retaliation claims. The district court also dismissed the plaintiffs' state law claims, but without prejudice. For the reasons set forth in the following opinion, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

I BACKGROUND

GSU is a public university located in University Park, Illinois. The plaintiffs are former graduate students of the MSW program at GSU. The defendants are various GSU officers and members of the GSU Board of Trustees. The plaintiffs allege that the defendants induced them to matriculate in the MSW program at GSU by knowingly and falsely representing to them that the program was approved for accreditation by the National Council of Social Work Education ("NCSWE").¹ According to the complaint, the MSW program was never approved for accreditation by NCSWE, and the defendants took no steps to ensure that the program would gain accreditation. The defendants hired unqualified faculty members and maintained an inadequate curriculum, knowing that such decisions would prevent the MSW program from gaining accreditation. Between 1997, when the program was instituted, and 2000, the MSW program was denied accreditation on at least two occasions. In November of 2000, GSU representatives informed the students enrolled in the MSW program that NCSWE had denied accreditation candidacy and that the students would be graduating from an unaccredited program. Shortly thereafter, GSU suspended MSW classes.

On December 5, 2000, MSW students, including the plaintiffs, met with GSU President Stuart Fagan to discuss the MSW accreditation issue. Shortly thereafter, President Fagan and GSU Vice President Timothy Arr met and agreed to allow MSW students to attend a board meeting scheduled for December 15, 2000, so that the plaintiffs could voice their complaints. Several MSW students attended the December 15 meeting, and they were permitted to protest with picket signs. Later that evening, several MSW students attended a GSU holiday party, which also was attended by the defendants; some students carried signs and others passed out leaflets protesting the defendants' handling of the MSW accreditation issue.

On January 12, 2001, the defendants held an executive board meeting to discuss the MSW program. During this meeting, the defendants' attorney summarized his research on the MSW accreditation issue, including the possibility of litigation and settlement options.

On January 27, 2001, GSU hosted a series of alumni events, which entailed an alumni town meeting, followed by individual networking receptions for each of GSU's academic departments, and an alumni dinner. The purpose of the alumni town meeting was to discuss GSU's strategic planning process with alumni, while the purpose of the alumni networking receptions and dinner was to facilitate alumni networking. Featured speakers at the dinner included President Fagan and State Senator Debbie Halvorson.

The GSU Alumni Association created the invitation list for the January 27 events by identifying all GSU graduates as of August 2000, and eliminating any whose addresses were not in zip codes within driving distance. Invitations were mailed in December of 2000, and invitees were asked to return a response card by January 15, indicating which of the events they planned to attend. Although GSU officials initially expected around 250 alumni and guests to attend the events, more than 900 confirmed their attendance.

In preparation for the January 27 events, GSU Director of Public Safety Albert Chesser composed two memos addressed to President Fagan regarding security. In the first memo, dated January 18, 2001, Chesser stated that "[c]ampus access will be open and we expect a positive impact in handling the potential protestors and/or disturbances." R.54, Ex.17. In a second memo, dated January 25, 2001, Chesser noted a change in plans. In addition to closing two of the six university entrances and monitoring the remaining four, the memo states that security "will only allow picket signs outside in the vestibule area, but not to stop any flow of guest attendance." R.54, Ex.18. Although both memos were addressed to President Fagan, he denies receiving them, and Chesser recalls sending them to his immediate supervisor, Vice President Arr, rather than to President Fagan.

On the day of the events, the plaintiffs gathered outside of GSU's main entrance in order to protest the defendants' handling of the MSW accreditation issue and to meet with State Senator Halvorson. Some of the plaintiffs carried picket signs. Security officers informed the plaintiffs that they could picket on the walkway outside of the building, but that they could not bring their picket signs into the building. The plaintiffs were allowed to enter the atrium (without their picket signs) and to converse with registered guests, but they were denied access to other areas of the building, including the library and restrooms. As a result of the restrictions, the plaintiffs claim that they were prevented from attending a previously scheduled meeting with Senator Halvorson.

With the exception of Bruce Friefeld, who arrived after the plaintiffs had disbanded, no member of the Board of Trustees attended the January 27 alumni events. President Fagan, however, was in attendance; at some point during the events, Chesser informed President Fagan of the protest. President Fagan testified that he told Chesser that "the students should be allowed to protest and in no situation whatsoever should there be any physical altercation at all." R.45, Ex.G at 75.

II DISCUSSION

A. Substantive Due Process

The plaintiffs submit that the district court erred when it granted the defendants' motion to dismiss their substantive due process claim. The plaintiffs submit that the defendants deprived them of a fundamental right to a continuing education. We review a district court's grant of a motion to dismiss de novo. See Hickey v. O'Bannon, 287 F.3d 656, 657 (7th Cir.2002). In doing so, this court must accept all well-pleaded facts alleged in the complaint as true and must draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the plaintiffs. See Lachmund v. ADM Investor Servs., Inc., 191 F.3d 777, 782 (7th Cir.1999). Dismissal is proper if it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiffs cannot prove any set of facts entitling them to relief. See First Ins. Funding Corp. v. Fed. Ins. Co., 284 F.3d 799, 804 (7th Cir.2002).

In Washington v. Glucksberg, 521 U.S. 702, 117 S.Ct. 2258, 138 L.Ed.2d 772 (1997), the Supreme Court identified two controlling features of substantive due process:

First, we have regularly observed that the Due Process Clause specially protects those fundamental rights and liberties which are, objectively, deeply rooted in this Nation's history and tradition, and implicit in the concept of ordered liberty, such that neither liberty nor justice would exist if they were sacrificed. Second, we have required in substantive-due-process cases a careful description of the asserted fundamental liberty interest. Our Nation's history, legal traditions, and practices thus provide the crucial guideposts for responsible decision-making that direct and restrain our exposition of the Due Process Clause.

Id. at 720-21, 117 S.Ct. 2258 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).² In keeping with the analytical pattern mandated by Glucksberg, we first must identify carefully the interest that the plaintiffs claim to be constitutionally protected. Then we must determine whether our "Nation's history, legal traditions and practices" permit our characterizing that interest as fundamental. In this process, we must adhere to existing precedent of the Supreme Court and of this court.

As the district court noted, the right asserted by the plaintiffs is best described as the right to an accredited graduate school education. Neither the Supreme Court nor this court has recognized education as a fundamental right. The opportunity to receive a post-secondary education from an accredited graduate school program certainly has not received such recognition. Indeed, in San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 1, 93 S.Ct. 1278, 36 L.Ed.2d 16 (1973), the Supreme Court expressly declined the invitation to hold that education is a fundamental right under the Due Process Clause. The Court took the view that education is "not among the rights afforded explicit protection" under the...