Education Law - SchoolNET

Boards of education do not have immunity from age discrimination suits under the Eleventh Amendment

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has just held that a local school board can be sued under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA). Woods v. Rondout Valley Central School District Board of Education, 05-1080.

Harold Woods was appointed as a substitute teacher at Rondout Valley Central High School in 1999. He was 68 years old at that time. In 2003, he caused a publication to be distributed to the Rondout Valley Federation of Teachers that he described as "a fact-based and informative article on sexual harassment." Woods' paper was published while an investigation by the district was being conducted concerning alleged sexual harassment by one of its principals.

According to the federal appellate court, the principal told Woods in November 2003 that Woods was "stressed out" and would be reassigned to one of the district's elementary schools. Three weeks later, Woods was fired.

Woods then sued the principal, two other district officials and the board of education under the ADEA.

The district judge dismissed Woods' claims against the principal and the other two officials, finding they could not be sued as individuals. The judge, however, refused to dismiss the case against the board. The Second Circuit has now indicated its agreement with the district judge's determination.

The Second Circuit decision noted the court had never specifically addressed the question whether a local board of education is an arm of the state entitled to immunity from suit in federal court under the Eleventh Amendment. In holding that there is no such immunity, the court stated, "We can hardly conclude that there would be a clear injury to the sovereign dignity of the State of New York by allowing local boards of education to be sued in federal court when we have rejected such a conclusion with respect to suits against the state's local school districts." This was in reference to a previous holding by the court in Fay v. South Colonie Central School District, 802 F. 2d. 21 (1986), where the Second Circuit concluded that local school districts (as opposed to local boards of education) were not arms of the state for purposes of Eleventh Amendment immunity.

It should be noted however, that the federal appellate court in this case did not hold that individual members of boards of education can be sued in their individual capacities under the ADEA. While the issue of individual board member liability was not expressly before the court, it did find that any judgment in Woods' favor would be paid out of a reserve fund generated by local property taxes. Ultimately, this decision stands for the proposition that the Second Circuit regards boards of education as separate corporate entities, as compared to the school districts they govern, that can be sued in their own right; and, further, that school boards are not "arms of the state" entitled to protection from such suits under the Eleventh Amendment of the United States Constitution.