Dismissed teachers file class action lawsuit against Los Angeles Unified School District
A class action lawsuit involving approximately 2,000 teachers was filed last Friday against the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).
The lawsuit seeks damages arising out of the district’s use of the so-called “teacher jail” system wherein teachers accused of various forms of professional misconduct are removed from the classroom and made to report to nondescript office buildings instead.
According to reports, teachers are given no access to the Internet, electronic devices and are forbidden from speaking to other teachers. The lawsuit alleges that teachers are never informed of the charges against them while in “teacher jail.”
The suit also claims that the district regularly conducts witch hunts against veteran teachers in a transparent effort divest those teachers of their pensions and medical benefits. Hardly a week goes by without a new case of alleged misconduct by an LAUSD teacher being reported in the media.
According to the lawsuit, a total of $500,000 in pension and health benefits have been taken from the class of teachers as a result of the district’s actions. The lawsuit seeks $1 billion in overall damages.
The lead plaintiff in the case is Rafe Esquith, a teacher with over 30 years experience whose dismissal last March received wide publicity. Esquith is the founder of the Hobart Shakespeareans, a group of elementary school students from predominately working class and ethnic minority backgrounds who put on Shakespeare’s plays at least once a year.
The group has received the active support of renowned actors such as Ian McKellan, John Lithgow and Hal Holworth. Esquith has also received numerous grants and award throughout his LAUSD tenure.
Earlier this year, the district removed Esquith from his classroom over allegations that he told a joke to his classroom regarding nudity in Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. The district also allegedly seized more than $100,000 worth of materials from his classroom after the dismissal, including numerous books and musical instruments.
Esquith initially responded with a lawsuit against the district alleging defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, retaliation and age discrimination. That lawsuit has now been expanded to the current class Dismissed teachers file class action lawsuit against Los Angeles Unified School District - World Socialist Web Site:
