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Shreve v. Board of Education of Mt. Vernon High School District No. 20112/20/1999
Plaintiff Ronnie O. Shreve appeals from the order of the circuit court of Sangamon County reversing on administrative review the decision of a hearing officer of the Illinois State Board of Education (Board) that overturned plaintiff's dismissal as a teacher by the Board of Education of Mt. Vernon High School District No. 201 (District). The individual defendants include the hearing officer David A. Loebach, members of the District's board, and members of the Board. Plaintiff's complaint for administrative review (105 ILCS 5/24-12 (West 1996); 735 ILCS 5/3-101 through 3-113 (West 1996)) sought an order (1) directing the District to reinstate him in time for the 1998-99 school term and (2) remanding the cause to the hearing officer to address the question of damages. The District filed a counterclaim asking the circuit court to review the decision of the hearing officer as being against the manifest weight of the evidence and to reinstate the District's decision to dismiss plaintiff.
The issues on appeal are whether (1) the circuit court used the wrong standard of review; (2) the hearing officer's decision can be sustained because (a) he exceeded his authority by ordering lesser discipline; (b) the decision was against the manifest weight of the evidence because (i) the District failed to meet the standard for proving sexual harassment and did not sustain its burden of proof as to charge Nos. 1 and 2, or (ii) the hearing officer improperly admitted into evidence documents from 1989; (c) the portion of charge Nos. 1 and 2 found sustained by the hearing officer constituted irremediable conduct; (3) plaintiff's rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) (42 U.S.C. ยง12101 et seq. (1994 & Supp. III 1997)) were violated; and (4) this cause should be remanded for determination of damages for which the District is liable. We reverse the circuit court, reinstate the hearing officer's decision, and remand to the circuit court with directions.
The record in this case is voluminous. Because the parties and this court are familiar with the record, only those facts necessary for an understanding of this court's disposition will be discussed.
On December 19, 1994, the District acted to dismiss plaintiff from his contractual continued-service (tenured) teaching position at Mt. Vernon High School. Plaintiff requested a hearing pursuant to section 24-12 of the School Code (105 ILCS 5/24-12 (West 1994)). Pursuant to the procedures set forth in section 24-12, the parties selected and the Board appointed the hearing officer.
The District brought nine charges against plaintiff. The hearing officer found some of the allegations in charge Nos. 1 and 2, involving sexual harassment, proved. The District did not seek administrative review of the hearing officer's ruling as to the other charges, but challenged the hearing officer's finding as to remediability.
The hearing officer made the following findings of fact:
"1. [Plaintiff] did playfully and intentionally bump hips with a female student JF in the hallway while in route from the classroom, to a routinely used math computer lab.
2. [Plaintiff] did have a mandatory seating chart policy and did regularly mandatorily seat selected pretty girls in the front row, or within direct view of his desk.
3. [Plaintiff] does only have one natural eye, and the other, the left eye is a prosthetic glass eye.
4. [Plaintiff] did not ever discuss sex in a quid pro quo offer to any of the complaining female students. He did by action give students answers to gradable quiz and test questions. No evidence of explicit quid pro quo was substantiated in evidence.
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