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Land v. Board of Education

Case Date: 08/27/2001
Court: 1st District Appellate
Docket No: 1-00-0659 Rel

No. 1-00-0659 

First Division
August 27, 2001



MAURICE LAND, PAUL GAUBIS, VARKEY )Appeal from the
ACHETTU, MONROE MORGAN and )Circuit Court of
CHARLENE JACKSON, )Cook County.
)
Plaintiffs-Appellants, )
)
                   v.                                                                                                                      )
)
BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE CITY OF )
CHICAGO, a Body Politic and Corporate; )
GERY J. CHICO, Indiv. and as President of the )
Chicago School Reform Board ofTrustees; )
NORMAN BOBINS, Indiv. and as a Trustee ofthe )
Chicago School Reform Board of Trustees;TARIQ )
BUTT, Indiv. and as a Trustee of the Chicago ) 99 CH 3251
School Reform Board of Trustees; AVIS LAVELLE,                                                             )
Indiv. and as a Trustee of the Chicago School )
Reform Board of Trustees; GENE SAFFOLD, )
Indiv. and as a Trustee of the Chicago School )
Reform Board of Trustees; PAUL G. VALLAS, )
Indiv. and as the Chief Executive Officer )
of the Chicago Public Schools; COZETTE M. )
BUCKNEY, Indiv. and as ChiefEducation )
Officer of the Chicago Public Schools; CARLOS )
PONCE, Indiv. and as Director of the )
Department of Human Resources for the Chicago )
Public Schools, )The Honorable
)John K. Madden,
Defendants-Appellees. ) Judge Presiding.


JUSTICE COHEN delivered the opinion of the court:

On January 22, 1999, the Board of Education of the City of Chicago (the Board)"honorably terminated" 138 tenured Chicago public school teachers. The plaintiffs are five of the138 tenured teachers who were honorably terminated.(1) The terminations were allegedlyconducted in accordance with 1995 amendments to the Illinois School Code (the Code) (105ILCS 5/18-1 et seq. (West 2000)). The plaintiffs sought a writ of mandamus ordering the Boardto reinstate them as Chicago Public School teachers, a permanent injunction restraining theBoard from terminating their employment and a declaratory judgment invalidating the Board'slayoff policy as violative of their tenure rights under sections 34-84 and 34-85 of the Code (105ILCS 5/34-84, 34-85 (West 2000)). Both the defendants and plaintiffs filed cross-motions forsummary judgment. After pleading concluded, the trial court granted the defendants' motion forsummary judgment.

In 1995, the Illinois General Assembly adopted a package of school reform laws, part ofwhich authorized the Board to "promulgate rules establishing procedures governing the layoff orreduction in force of employees and the recall of such employees." 105 ILCS 5/34-18 (31) (West2000). In exercising this authority, the Board adopted a policy titled "Amend Board Report 95-0814-PO2 Policy Regarding Reassignment and Layoff of Regularly Certified and AppointedTeachers." According to this policy:

"Whenever an attendance center or a program is closed, there is a drop in enrollment,the educational focus of the attendance center is changed such that available teachingpositions cannot accommodate some or all current regularly certified and appointedteaching staff, or when an attendance center is subject to actions taken as a result ofremediation, probation, reconstitution or educational crisis, such staff will bereassigned or laid off." Board of Education of the City of Chicago, Amend BoardReport 95-0814-PO2 Policy Regarding Reassignment and Layoff of RegularlyCertified and Appointed Teachers