RONALD A. WHITE, District Judge.
Plaintiffs filed this action on April 19, 2016 in the District Court of Seminole County Oklahoma against the Seminole School District and three individual board members. Defendants removed this action to this court on May 13, 2016. Now before the court is Defendants' motion to dismiss counts 1, 2, 4 and 5 of Plaintiffs' eight claims [Docket No. 5]. Additionally, Defendants request that the § 1983 claims against the individual defendant board members in their official capacity be dismissed. Claims brought against a state official in his or her official capacity are construed as claims against the State and are barred by the Eleventh Amendment.
The following claims are at issue herein: (Count 1) breach of contract against the School District; (Count 2) violation of Oklahoma's Teacher Due Process Act, 70 OKLA. STAT. §§ 6-101.20 et seq. (hereinafter "TDPA") against the School District; (Count 4) § 1983 violation of due process rights in liberty interests against all Defendants; and (Count 5) § 1983 and Oklahoma Constitutional violation of due process rights in property interests against all Defendants.
For purposes of the motions to dismiss, the court accepts as true all of the factual allegations in Plaintiffs' Amended Petition and construes those facts in the light most favorable to Plaintiffs.
To survive the motions to dismiss, the Amended Petition "must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to `state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.'"
In a case against multiple defendants, "it is particularly important . . . that the complaint make clear exactly who is alleged to have done what to whom, to provide each individual with fair notice as to the basis of the claims against him or her, as distinguished from collective allegations . . . ."
Plaintiffs were employed by the School District for the 2014 - 2015 school year on temporary contracts. Docket No. 3, Exh 3, p. 2. At the June 11, 2015 board meeting, the three individual board member defendants voted to not renew Plaintiffs' contracts.
Plaintiffs claim that the School District failed to comply with the TPDA by failing to: (1) initiate a hearing for nonrenewal; (2) receive a recommendation to dismiss and to mail Plaintiffs a copy thereof; (3) provide notice of underlying facts; (4) provide written admonishment; (5) provide the statutorily required pre-termination hearing; and (6) provide a name-clearing hearing when Plaintiffs' contracts were not renewed for performance related reasons. The TPDA provides in pertinent part:
70 OKLA. STAT. § 6-101.23 (emphasis added). As Plaintiffs alleged, they were employed on temporary contracts. The nonreemployment provisions of the TPDA do not apply to them. Accordingly, this claim is dismissed.
Plaintiffs claim that the School District breached their contracts by failing to renew them, arguing that the collective bargaining agreement provided for compliance with the TPDA. As the court held above, the School District did not violate the TPDA. Moreover, an Oklahoma teacher on a temporary contract has no expectation of a continuing contract status.
There is no allegation here that the School District had somehow created regular continuing contracts with any of the Plaintiffs. Plaintiffs acknowledge that they held temporary contracts. Instead they argue that in deciding to not renew Plaintiffs' temporary contracts, the School District did not comply with the collective bargaining agreement which required compliance with the TPDA. The court does not agree. The School District did not violate the TPDA in the nonrenewal of Plaintiffs' contracts. The breach of contract claim is dismissed.
Plaintiffs claim that the School District and the individual board member defendants violated their Fourteenth Amendment and Oklahoma Constitutional rights to due process, arguing that they have a property interest in their continued employment. Property interests are not created by the Constitution, but rather "by independent sources such as a state or federal statute, a municipal charter or ordinance, or an implied or express contract."
Plaintiffs also claim that the School District and the individual board member defendants violated their Fourteenth Amendment due process rights and liberty interests when one or more of the individual board member defendants stated to third parties that "they had good reason" for terminating Plaintiffs and that the Plaintiffs "were not effective at their jobs." This claim fails for two reasons. First, Plaintiffs fail to make clear exactly who did what to whom in accordance with
Second, these statements — that the board members "had good reason" not to renew Plaintiffs' contracts or that Plaintiffs "were not effective at their jobs" — are not, as Plaintiffs argue, actionable under the "reputation-plus" theory,
For the reasons stated herein, Defendants' partial motion to dismiss [Docket No. 5] is hereby GRANTED. Counts 1, 2, 4 and 5 are hereby dismissed. Additionally, the § 1983 claims against the individual board members in their official capacities are dismissed. Counts 3, 6, 7 and 8 remain.