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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 |
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan at Flint.
No. 4:19-cv-12693—Matthew F. Leitman, District Judge.
Argued: January 27, 2022
Decided and Filed: May 19, 2022
Before: SUTTON, Chief Judge; GUY and DONALD, Circuit Judges.
_________________________
OPINION
_________________________
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. |
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JOHN DOE and JANE DOE #1, on behalf of their minor
child, Jane Doe #2 (20-6225); SALLY DOE, on behalf
of her minor child, Sally Doe #2 (20-6228),
Plaintiffs-Appellants,
v.
METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND
DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE, dba Metropolitan
Nashville Public Schools,
Defendant-Appellee. |
Nos. 20-6225/6228 |
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee at Nashville.
Nos. 3:17-cv-01159 (20-6225); 3:17-cv-01209 (20-6228)—Aleta Arthur Trauger, District Judge.
Argued: October 27, 2021
Decided and Filed: May 19, 2022
Before: GUY, MOORE, and GIBBONS, Circuit Judges.
_________________________
OPINION
_________________________
JULIA SMITH GIBBONS, Circuit Judge. Jane Doe and Sally Doe,1
two female students at Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (“MNPS”), were videoed by other students engaging in
sexual activity with male students at school. Through their parents, they sued MNPS alleging
violations of Title IX and constitutional violations under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The district court
granted summary judgment in favor of MNPS on the students’ claims. We vacate in part,
reverse in part, and remand. |
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