Fry v. Louisiana Ex Rel. Department of Public Safety & Corrections , 544 F. App'x 374 ( 2013 )

Case: 12-30602 Document: 00512239505 Page: 1 Date Filed: 05/13/2013
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
May 13, 2013
No. 12-30602 Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
MARIANNE FRY; JANICE KNOX; RENELLA S. KENDALL; BOBBY J.
HOOKS; JOHNNIE M. BROWN; JANESTER K. ANDERSON; MAVIS L.
DURR; YVONNE ASBERRY; TERI NICHOLS BARROW; BROWNIE
KRISPIN RENFROE; IRIS LOCURE; ALUSKA FRANCOIS,
Plaintiffs-Appellants
v.
STATE OF LOUISIANA THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC
SAFETY AND CORRECTIONS; MARY LIVERS, Deputy Secretary; STATE
OF LOUISIANA, OFFICE OF JUVENILE JUSTICE,
Defendants-Appellees
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALUSKA FRANCOIS,
Plaintiff-Appellant
v.
DEPUTY SECRETARY MARY LIVERS; STATE OF LOUISIANA, OFFICE
OF JUVENILE JUSTICE
Defendants-Appellees
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Louisiana
USDC No. 3:09-CV-430
Case: 12-30602 Document: 00512239505 Page: 2 Date Filed: 05/13/2013
No. 12-30602
Before REAVLEY, JOLLY, and SMITH, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Plaintiffs–Appellants in this appeal are teachers formerly employed by the
State of Louisiana’s Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Office of
Juvenile Justice. They appeal the district court’s grant of summary judgment
for Defendants in their wrongful termination suit. Plaintiffs argue that they
were terminated from their jobs without regard for their tenured status, in
violation of due process. Reviewing the record de novo, see Boudreaux v. Swift
Transp. Co., 402 F.3d 536, 540 (5th Cir. 2005), we AFFIRM for the same reasons
given in the district court’s opinion.
Plaintiffs were formerly employed as tenured teachers at the Jetson
Center for Youth–East Baton Rouge Parish Unit (“Jetson facility”). In 2008, the
Louisiana Legislature enacted La. Rev. Stat. § 15:902.4, which provided for the
closure of the Jetson facility by June 30, 2009. See 2008 La. Sess. Law Serv. Act
565 (S.B. 749) (West). The Legislature later amended the statute to provide for
the conversion of the Jetson facility into a new facility with a new name, a new
mission and teaching model, and a reduced budget and staff. See 2009 La. Sess.
Law Serv. Act 253 (S.B. 302) (West). Both the original and amended versions of
the statute contemplated that the Jetson facility would be closed and the
positions of its staff would be eliminated. For example, both versions of the
statute allowed for a hiring preference within the Department of Public Safety
for those Jetson employees who were involuntarily displaced. We agree with the
district court that because the Legislature eliminated Plaintiffs’ positions, their
tenured status did not afford them special protection, and the reduction in force
was not a violation of due process. See Hays v. La. State Bd. of Elementary &
*
Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not
be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.
R. 47.5.4.
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Case: 12-30602 Document: 00512239505 Page: 3 Date Filed: 05/13/2013
No. 12-30602
Secondary Educ., 39 So. 3d 818, 821 (La. Ct. App. 2010) (stating that the
Louisiana teacher tenure law “was not intended ‘to guarantee job security where
there were no jobs’” (quoting Rousselle v. Plaquemines Parish Sch. Bd., 633 So.
2d 1235, 1243 (La. 1994)).
AFFIRMED.
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