Jeanne Hedgepth v. James A. Briton, et al.

Chicago, Illinois employment law lawyer represented the Plaintiff on a wrongful termination claim.



Jeanne Hedgepeth, a high

school teacher with two suspensions and prior warnings of

possible termination, posted inflammatory messages to a Fa-

cebook account followed mostly by former students. The

posts prompted numerous complaints and media inquiries to

the school district. Given the disruption and previous warn-

ings, the school district fired Hedgepeth.2 No. 24-1427

Hedgepeth sued the school district and other associated

individuals under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, arguing that her discharge

violated the First Amendment. The district court granted de-

fendants summary judgment, and Hedgepeth appealed. We

affirm. We hold that Hedgepeth failed to adduce sufficient ev-

idence from which a reasonable juror could find in her favor

on the merits of her First Amendment claim.



Until her dismissal in 2020, Hedgepeth taught social stud-

ies at Palatine High School (PHS) for twenty years. PHS is an

Illinois public school located in Township High School Dis-

trict 211.



Prior to her termination, the District had suspended

Hedgepeth twice. The first suspension came in 2016 after

Hedgepeth erupted with profanity at her students after the

2016 United States Presidential Election, using the word

"fucking” while in a "volatile emotional state.” Citing policies

demanding "just and courteous professional relationships”

and student welfare, the District suspended Hedgepeth with-

out pay for one day. Hedgepeth received an explicit written

warning that future use of profanity or another similar inci-

dent would result in additional disciplinary measures, in-

cluding possible termination.



Hedgepeth's second suspension occurred in 2019, after an-

other profane outburst in the classroom, this time in response

to a student. According to the incident report, she told the stu-

dent, "You haven't even done your fucking homework,” and

directed him to "read the fucking chapter.” She also replied

"no shit” to another one of the student's comments. An audio

recording of the incident documented Hedgepeth's heatedNo. 24-1427 3

and profane comments. Apparently aware that her conduct

violated District policy, she announced to the class that she

would "surely be suspended for that.” She was correct. Citing

the same policies that led to her first suspension, the District

suspended Hedgepeth without pay again – this time for four

days. It also issued a notice to remedy, again warning of pos-

sible dismissal, and required her to attend at least six counsel-

ing sessions.



The following year, on May 31 and June 1, 2020, during

nationwide protests following the police killing of George

Floyd, Hedgepeth made a series of posts on Facebook. At the

time, she was vacationing in Florida. The first post, evidently

in response to media reports about the ongoing protests, in-

cluded pictures from her vacation with the caption, "I don't

want to go home tomorrow. Now that the civil war has begun

I want to move.” A Facebook friend commented on her post,

"Follow your gut! Move!!!!!!!!” to which Hedgepeth replied,

"I need a gun and training.”



In another Facebook post, Hedgepeth reposted a viral

meme evoking the high-pressure water hoses used against

civil rights protestors in the early 1960s that read, "Wanna

stop the Riots? Mobilize the septic tank trucks, put a pressure

cannon on em ... hose em down ... the end.” Hedgepeth com-

mented on her own post, "You think this would work?”

Finally, Hedgepeth engaged in an online debate with a

former PHS student about race in America. Over the course

of that debate, Hedgepeth wrote in a Facebook comment, "I

find the term 'white privilege' as racist as the 'N' word.”

According to Hedgepeth, former students constituted

about 80% of her roughly 800 Facebook friends in June 2020.4 No. 24-1427

Before and after making the posts, Hedgepeth configured her

Facebook account to "private” and she did not accept "friend

requests” from current PHS students. Those measures, how-

ever, especially with the very high percentage of former stu-

dent Facebook friends, were inadequate to keep the "private”

posts from the public domain.



The day after Hedgepeth made the posts, PHS Principal

Tony Medina began receiving complaints from current PHS

students and alumni, another teacher, and a parent, which he

relayed to District Superintendent Lisa Small. The District

also received emails, calls, and media inquiries (both local and

international) regarding Hedgepeth's posts. The District

promptly issued a press release clarifying that Hedgepeth's

posts "do not reflect the values or principles of District 211”

and apologizing "for any harm or disrespect that this may

have caused.” By the end of the first week of June, Hedgepeth

met with District Human Resources Director James Britton,

who told her that the District would investigate her conduct.

A week later, Britton and Superintendent Small met with

Hedgepeth and informed her they planned to recommend

that the District School Board fire her. Small based the recom-

mendation on Hedgepeth's prior disciplinary sanctions and

warnings, her Facebook posts, the public reaction to them,

and her "lack of any understanding or appreciation for why

many people found her comments objectionable.” In addition

to violating her prior disciplinary warnings, Small found that

Hedgepeth had violated four other District policies, including

one governing teacher conduct on social media and the same

"just and courteous professional relationships” policy she

had been disciplined for violating twice before.No. 24-1427 5

The District Board held two public meetings, both of

which included public comment. The first meeting featured

at least 58 public comments on Hedgepeth's Facebook posts,

most critical and a handful in support. At the second meeting,

speakers also spoke mostly critically of Hedgepeth.



After holding the public meetings, the District Board

voted to fire Hedgepeth. The District Board served Hedge-

peth with a notice of charges, bill of particulars, and advised

her of her right to request a hearing before the Illinois State

Board of Education. The bill of particulars explained that the

District Board no longer considered Hedgepeth qualified as a

teacher because she did not conduct herself "in a manner that

demonstrates good judgment,” especially because she failed

"to serve as [a] role model” for the community. The District

Board further explained that her conduct had "damaged”

Hedgepeth's effectiveness as a teacher, her broader reputa-

tion, and the reputation of PHS and the broader District com-

munity.



The bill of particulars went on, explaining that the District

had by then "received over 135 emails and phone calls ex-

pressing concern or outrage about your posts. The communi-

cations came from former students, parents, current students

and staff. Your postings also received media coverage, includ-

ing on WGNTV, ABC7, NBC5, Fox 32, the New York Post and

the Daily Herald.” The District Board viewed this as incom-

patible with Hedgepeth's workplace duties, which required

Hedgepeth "to work with staff and students of all back-

grounds impede[d] the efficiency of the District's provision of ser-

vices.”1 Citing as well to Hedgepeth's prior disciplinary his-

tory, the District Board concluded that Hedgepeth had "lost

the trust and respect of colleagues and students.”



Hedgepeth's immediate response was to request a review

hearing before the Illinois State Board of Education. At the

hearing, Hedgepeth was represented by counsel and had the

opportunity to call witnesses, offer documents into evidence,

cross-examine witnesses, and present arguments. Among

other things, Hedgepeth argued that her termination was

wrongful because her Facebook posts were protected under

the First Amendment. The hearing officer applied the balanc-

ing test under Pickering v. Bd. of Ed. of Twp. High Sch. Dist. 205,

391 U.S. 563 (1968) and found that Hedgepeth's dismissal did

not violate her First Amendment rights.



While awaiting decision on her administrative hearing,

Hedgepeth elected to seek relief in federal court as well. She

sued the District and various District Board members who

voted in favor of her termination (including Superintendent

Small and Director Britton), alleging that they violated her

First Amendment rights. After the close of discovery, the dis-

trict court granted summary judgment to all defendants (to-

gether, the District), holding that Hedgepeth was collaterally

estopped from bringing her First Amendment claim because

she pursued appellate review before the Illinois State Board

of Education and that, in any event, her claim failed on the

merits.

Defendant's motion for summary judgment granted.



Affirmed