Is depression covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act?
That's one of the questions posed by a lawsuit filed this week in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. Lisa Hubler, a veteran schoolteacher with more than a decade of experience, claims she was wrongfully fired by the Nevada R-5 School District because or depression-related problems.
According to the petition, Ms. Hubler was hired by R-5 Superintendent Ted Davis on April 14, 2000. to teach first grade students in the district's Reading Recovery program. Previously, she taught fourth grade for 10 years in the North Kansas City School District.
From Oct. 9 to Oct. 20, 2000, the lawsuit said, Ms. Hubler was given two weeks of paid sick leave to deal with the onset of depression symptoms. The school offered her a reduced work schedule for three weeks after her leave, then she returned to working full time.
On Feb. 20, 2001, the lawsuit said, the principal, Debbie Spaur, and director of special services Geraldine Johnson "confronted plaintiff with allegations that she had abused her sick leave in October of 2000." Ms. Hubler was told that her trainer from Southeast Missouri State University Carrie Kleinsorge had reported that Ms. Hubler was not doing well in the reading recovery program. "Plaintiff was told that there was concern about her medical condition and her ability to do the job."
At the end of that meeting, Ms. Hubler was told she needed to decide whether she wanted to continue at Bryan Elementary. "The implication was clear that Principal Spaur and Director Johnson wanted her to resign. She asked if she was being told to quit." She was told it was up to her and that if she stayed job target goals would be set for her.
The next day, Ms. Hudler called Ms. Kleinsorge who told her that she was doing fine and expressed surprise about what the school officials said.
Ms. Hudler then spoke with the superintendent who told her her absences had "hurt her chances for a contract renewal."
The principal had also told Ms. Hudler there had been a parent complaint about her, according to the lawsuit. After talking with the parent, she said, it became apparent that was not the case.
On March 2, 2001, Ms. Hudler's psychologist prepared a request for medical leave for the rest of the school year. Ms. Hudler's husband told school officials she could return to work with proper accommodations and that she could not work due to the hostile work relations with the principal and Ms. Kleinsorge.
On April 12, 2001, Ms. Hudler received a letter telling her her contract would not be renewed.
Ms. Hudler claims that she was discriminated against because of her disability and that her civiil rights were violated.
She is asking for lost income, benefits, interest, and costs.
3 comments:
Should emotionally unstable teachers be educating our children? I realize that teaching can cause stress, anxiety, and depression, but the students have enough problems on their own. A majority of students already have parents that don't care enough; they don't need depressed teachers too. The school is sometimes the only stability in our young people’s lives.
That was something that concerned me as I read through the lawsuit. While I am totally sympathetic with people who have these problems, you also have to consider the effect, if any, the condition has on the students, and the effect that having a steady stream of substitute teachers can have on student learning.
Perhaps a few facts left out from your lawsuit summary would help. Mrs. Hubler was a disabled individual who was provided reasonable accommodations (paid sick leave).
Later, her performance was evaluated and graded (including the leave period) by an independent expert from SMSU (no one from the District was certified in the program at that time). The evaluation included consultation with supervisors and review of student progress.
Several months later when it was time for the Superintendent to forward contract recommendations to the Board, Mrs. Hubler was subjected to a series of unfounded allegations over a one week period and encouraged to resign. Contemporaneous documentation of these events were maintained and provided to the District.
When this harassment (and documentation)was reported, the Superintendent stated that he would not (or could not) stop the abuse, and she would have to put on her "suit of armor" if she decided to come back to work for the rest of the year; in addition, due solely to her earlier sick leave usage, there was no prospect for a contract for the next year. Mr. Hubler was then terminated without notice.
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