Hasanaj v. Detroit Pub. Sch. Cmty. Dist.

• Decision Date: 19 May 2022
• Docket Number: 21-1488
• Citation: 35 F.4th 437
• Parties: Kola HASANAJ, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. DETROIT PUBLIC SCHOOLS COMMUNITY DISTRICT; Steven Rhodes; Cassandra Washington ; Cindy Lang; Brenda Carethers; Lauri Washington, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

35 F.4th 437

Kola HASANAJ, Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.DETROIT PUBLIC SCHOOLS COMMUNITY DISTRICT; Steven Rhodes; Cassandra Washington ; Cindy Lang; Brenda Carethers; Lauri Washington, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 21-1488

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.

Argued: January 27, 2022

Decided and Filed: May 19, 2022

ARGUED: Shanta Driver, DRIVER, SCHON & ASSOCIATES PLC, Detroit, Michigan, for Appellant. Cynthia M. Filipovich, CLARK HILL PLC, Detroit, Michigan, for Appellee Steven Rhodes. Phyllis Hurks-Hill, DETROIT PUBLIC SCHOOLS COMMUNITY DISTRICT, Detroit, Michigan, for Detroit Public Schools Appellees. ON BRIEF: Shanta Driver, DRIVER, SCHON & ASSOCIATES PLC, Detroit, Michigan, for Appellant. Cynthia M. Filipovich, CLARK HILL PLC, Detroit, Michigan, Jennifer K. Green, CLARK HILL PLC, Birmingham, Michigan, for Appellee Steven Rhodes. Phyllis Hurks-Hill, DETROIT PUBLIC SCHOOLS COMMUNITY DISTRICT, Detroit, Michigan, for Detroit Public Schools Appellees.

Before: SUTTON, Chief Judge; GUY and DONALD, Circuit Judges.

GUY, J., delivered the opinion of the court in which SUTTON, C.J., joined. DONALD, J. (pp. 446–49), delivered a separate opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part.

RALPH B. GUY, JR., Circuit Judge.

Kola Hasanaj, a teacher certified in Michigan, was employed by the Detroit Public Schools Community District (District) as a teacher for ten years under a series of contracts. After about seven years, the District stopped sending contract renewal notices to Hasanaj. He received "ineffective" ratings in the three years that followed, so the District dismissed him as required by state law. See Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 380.1249(2)(j). Hasanaj sued the District and various school officials for alleged violations of state and federal law, including denial of procedural due process under the Fourteenth Amendment. He alleges that he and defendants "acted with the understanding that he had tenure," the evaluation ratings violated Michigan's statutory evaluation system, and now he cannot use his certificate to teach in Michigan. At the pleading stage, the district court dismissed the lawsuit.

Because Hasanaj has not satisfied Michigan's statutory tenure system, he has no protected property interest in continued employment. Nor has he been deprived of his liberty to pursue his profession because he still holds a valid Michigan certificate to teach. Finding that Hasanaj's other claims also fail under the Family Medical Leave Act and state law, we affirm.

I.

In Michigan, tenure for teachers is controlled by the Teachers’ Tenure Act (Tenure Act), Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. §§ 38.71 to 38.191, and performance evaluations and other personnel decisions for teachers are primarily governed by the Revised School Code, id. §§ 380.1 to 380.1095. These two statutory schemes form the foundation for the dispute in this case.

A.

Tenure. For public-school teachers in Michigan, "[c]ontinuing tenure is held only in accordance with" the Tenure Act. Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 38.91(1). The Tenure Act provides that a teacher "is considered to be on continuing tenure" only "[a]fter the satisfactory completion of the probationary period." Id. ; see also § 38.81(1). To complete the probationary period, a teacher must: (1) serve "at least 4 full school years of employment in a probationary period" and be "rated as highly effective on 3 consecutive annual year-end performance evaluations"; or (2) serve "at least 5 full school years of employment in a probationary period" and be "rated as effective or highly effective on his or her 3 most recent annual year-end performance evaluations." § 38.83b(1)-(2); see also § 38.81(2). Evaluations must comply with § 380.1249 ’s requirements. § 38.83a.

The probationary years are calculated using the "anniversary date" rule, under which "the probationary period begins with the initial date of employment and continues for" the required number of years until it "is completed on the [fourth or fifth] anniversary of the date of employment." Breuhan v. Plymouth-Canton Cmty. Schs. , 425 Mich. 278, 389 N.W.2d 85, 86 (1986) ; see Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 38.75. This rule "neither benefits nor penalizes teachers employed after the school year has begun" because each teacher "must simply serve the same probationary period" based upon their anniversary date of employment. Breuhan , 389 N.W.2d at 87 n.3.

But not all teaching employment counts toward tenure. A "teacher" under the Tenure Act, is defined as "a certificated individual employed for a full school year by any board of education or controlling board." Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 38.71(1). "Certificated," for "purposes of teacher tenure under the [Tenure Act]" means "any teacher who holds a Michigan teaching certificate, as defined by [Mich. Admin. Code R.] 390.1101, which is valid for the position to which he or she is assigned [.]" Mich. Admin. Code R. 390.661(1) (emphasis added); see Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 38.72. A certificate is valid for positions that match "the time period, grade level, and discipline area" (i.e., the "subject area") endorsed on the certificate. See Mich. Admin. Code R. 390.1101(g), (aa) ; see also id. 390.1101(c), (k), (l), 390.1105(1), and 390.1117(1). Accordingly, a teacher only accrues probationary years toward tenure when assigned to teach a subject endorsed on their teaching certificate.

"A teacher who is in a probationary period may be dismissed from his or her employment by the controlling [school] board at any time." Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 38.83(2).

After obtaining tenure, a teacher enjoys certain protections. For instance, a tenured teacher: may be discharged or demoted "only for a reason that is not arbitrary or capricious and only as provided in [the Tenure Act]," § 38.101(1); and may request that a school district review a performance evaluation, see § 380.1249(2)(l). And only a "teacher who has achieved continuing tenure status may appeal to the tenure commission any decision of a controlling board." § 38.121; see also § 38.104(1).

B.

Performance Evaluations. Michigan schools are required under § 380.1249, to evaluate "teachers" using an evaluation system that meets specified minimum requirements.¹ These evaluations are important because schools must use "the evaluations, at a minimum, to inform" certain employment decisions, including "[r]emoving ineffective tenured and untenured teachers and school administrators after they have had ample opportunities to improve, and ensuring that these decisions are made using rigorous standards and streamlined, transparent, and fair procedures." Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 380.1249(1)(d)(iv) (emphasis added).

Among the requirements in § 380.1249, teachers must receive "at least an annual year-end evaluation" using ratings of "highly effective, effective, minimally effective, or ineffective." § 380.1249(1)(c), (2)(a), (2)(g). Evaluations "must include classroom observations," § 380.1249(2)(e), "specific performance goals that will assist in improving effectiveness..., and any recommended training ... that would assist the teacher in meeting these goals." § 380.1249(2)(c) ; see also § 38.83a. A teacher "who received a rating of minimally effective or ineffective in his or her most recent annual year-end evaluations" must receive a "midyear progress report" that includes "a written improvement plan" with "goals" and "training." § 380.1249(2)(d)(iii).

"[I]f a teacher is rated as ineffective on 3 consecutive annual year-end evaluations," the school district "shall dismiss the teacher from his or her employment." § 380.1249(2)(j). That requirement, however, "does not affect the ability of a school district ... to dismiss a teacher from his or her employment regardless of whether the teacher is rated as ineffective on 3 consecutive annual year-end evaluations." Id. (emphasis added); see also § 38.83(2).

II.

A.

From 1998 to 2011, Hasanaj was employed as a substitute teacher at various high schools in the District. On October 10, 2006, Hasanaj obtained his standard teaching certificate from the State of Michigan, with subject endorsements for English and Bilingual in grades 6 to 12. He currently holds a valid professional teaching certificate (with the same endorsements), as well as a school administrator certificate for K-12 schools.

Each year in 2006 to 2011, Hasanaj was rated "good to excellent." Hasanaj was rated "Minimally Effective," however, for the 2011–2012 school year.

Hasanaj became a "contract teacher" in 2011. At the end of each year, the District notified Hasanaj that he would be retained as a teacher for another year. According to Hasanaj, these notices are only sent to nontenured (probationary) teachers. After 2013, he alleges that the District stopped sending him a renewal notification. Going forward, Hasanaj claims "the parties acted with the understanding that [he] was a tenured teacher."

For the 2013–2014 school year, the District assigned Hasanaj to teach two classes within his certification area and four math classes outside his certification area. The assistant principal observed one of Hasanaj's classes in September 2013, assigning him ratings of "Minimally Effective" or "Effective." Hasanaj was later accused of misconduct and placed on administrative leave. When Hasanaj was exonerated and reinstated, he took medical leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The last day Hasanaj taught in the 2013–2014 school year was October 29, 2013.

Presumably while on FMLA leave, Hasanaj filed a complaint with the District's Office of Employee Relations in April 2014, alleging that the assistant principal spoke to him "daily" in a "demeaning and disrespectful manner in front of the students." Hasanaj requested to be transferred to a different school and placed in his area of certification. The District allegedly gave Principal Brenda Carethers the option to release Hasanaj to a different school. But Principal Carethers declined and told Hasanaj that she needed a "spare body." At the end of May 2014...