Substitute Teacher Rejected Too Many Assignments - Loses Age Discrimination Suit

Low Rate of Accepting Assignments Dooms Substitute Teacher's Age Discrimination Suit; Summary Judgment for School District Affirmed

Lucille R. Kelley v. Humble I.S.D. (Tex.App.- Houston [1st Dist.] Mar. 29, 2007, pet. denied 8/17/07)(Alcala)

In this wrongful termination suit brought by a former substitute teacher under the state anti-discrimination statute, the First Court of Appeals holds that the Plaintiff had established a prima facie case of age discrimination, but nevertheless affirms the summary judgment for the school district, finding that she had failed to show that the reason given by the school district was pretextual.

The school district presented summary judgment evidence that Lucille Kelley had accepted a low number of teaching assignments in response to calls from the automated SubFinder scheduling system, and that she was fired for that reason. In a memorandum opinion, Justice Alcala holds that the Plaintiff had met her initial burden with evidence that she was replaced by younger subs, but that she had not overcome the district's proffer of a legitimate nondiscriminatory reason for firing her: limited availability and low acceptance rate of assignments offered to her. Plaintiff's evidence that the school district's logs were not fully accurate did not establish pretext.

Justice Alcala also rejects Kelley's disparate treatment claim and claim of a general pattern of discrimination based on statistical evidence. Concluding that Kelley had failed to meet her burden to show that the school district's adverse employment action against her was a pretext for age discrimination, or that her age (69 at the time of termination) was a motivating factor in the school district's decision, the court of appeals affirms the summary judgment granted by he 164th District Court in the employer's favor.

Case law categories: Employment Law, School Law, ISD Cases
Find terms: Employment law, public employment, discharge, termination, education law, school districts, ISD, TCHRA, age discrimination, prime-facie case, burden-shifting analysis, pretext