: SUPERIOR COURT

GWENDOLYN SAMUEL JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF HARTFORD

SHKEIA DICKERSON

LYNDA FAYE WILSON

v

DANNEL P. MALLOY : September 15, 2014 STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION,

COMMISSIONER PRYOR

COMPLAINT

A. PARTIES:

1. Plaintiff Gwendolyn Samuel, is an African American parent and, at all

relevant times, the natural guardian of school age children that attend Meriden

Connecticut Public Schools and is a citizen of Connecticut, who currently, and at all

times relevant hereto, resides in Meriden Connecticut.

2. Plaintiff Lynda Faye Wilson, is an African American great grandmother

and, at all relevant times, the legal guardian of school age great grandchild that

attend New Haven Connecticut Public Schools and is a citizen of Connecticut, who

currently, and at all times relevant hereto, resides in New Haven Connecticut.

3. Plaintiff Sh’keia Dickerson is an African American parent and, at all

relevant times, the natural guardian of school age children that attend Meriden

Connecticut Public Schools and is a citizen of Connecticut, who currently, and at all

times relevant hereto, resides in Meriden Connecticut.

4. The Defendant, Dannel P. Malloy, is and was at all relevant times,

Governor of the State of Connecticut, Pursuant to Article Fourth, § 12, of the State

Constitution, he must ensure that the laws are faithfully executed. Pursuant to Conn.

Gen. Stats. § 3-1, he is authorized to investigate and take proper action concerning

any matter involving the enforcement of the laws of the State and the

protection of all its citizens. Under Conn. Gen. Stats. §§ 10-1 and 10-2, he is

responsible for appointing impartial members of the State Board of Education. He is

further responsible for receiving a detailed statement of the activities of the

impartial State Board of Education and an account of the conditions of the public

schools and such other information as will assess the true conditions, progress and

needs of public school children within Connecticut. Conn. Gen. Stats. § 10-4.

5. The defendants, members of the State Board of Education; or their

successors; Pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stats. § 10-4a, have general supervision and

control of the educational interests of the State. Pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stats. § 10-4c,

they are responsible for preparing a comprehensive plan for the State’s public

schools to ensure suitable and substantially equal educational opportunities are

provided to all public school children in Connecticut.

6. The defendant Stefan Pryor, or his successor, is the Commissioner of

Education of the State of Connecticut, a member of the State Board of Education, and

the director of the Department of Education. Pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stats. §§ 10-2 and

10-3a, he is responsible for carrying out the mandates of the Board of Education.

7. The defendants, members of the State Board of Education; or their

successors; Pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stats. § 10-4a, have general supervision and

control of the educational interests of the State. Pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stats. § 10-4c,

they are responsible for preparing a comprehensive plan for the State’s public

schools to ensure suitable and substantially equal educational opportunities are

provided to all public school children in Connecticut.

B. JURISDICTION AND VENUE:

8. The plaintiff bring this action and invoke the jurisdiction of this court

pursuant to article first, §§8, and 20, as amended, and article eighth, §1, as amended,

of the Connecticut Constitution, as well as the due process and equal protection

clauses of the Connecticut Constitution and the U.S. Constitution, and Connecticut

General Statutes §§10-220, as well as Connecticut Coalition for Justice in Education

Funding, Inc., et al, v. Governor Jodi Rell, et al, 295 Conn. 240, 254, 990 A.2d 206

(2010); Sheff v. O'Neill, 238 Conn. 1, 45-46, 678 A.2d 1267 (1996).

9. The plaintiff also invoke the jurisdiction of this court pursuant to their

civil and due process rights under 42 U.S.C. §1983 and the fifth and fourteenth

amendments to the U.S. Constitution and article first, §§8, and 20, as amended, of the

Connecticut Constitution.

C. NATURE OF THE CASE:

10. The case is in the nature of a complaint for damages against the

defendants for violation of the plaintiffs’ Constitutional, statutory, civil, and common

law rights to the upbringing and education of their children, equal protections and to

equal representation on the State Board of Education by the appointment of Erin D.

Benham, President of the Meriden Federation of Teachers and Executive Committee

Vice President of the Connecticut American Federation of Teachers.

11. Denying Plaintiffs common law rights to the upbringing and education

of her children, by delaying critical aspects of a teacher evaluation system needed to

ensure that their public school children, that attend four out of three hundred and

fifty low performing schools in Connecticut, have access to effective teachers with the

knowledge and skills necessary to support high standards of learning.

12. Based on research by the United States Department of Education, an

ineffective teacher on students is enormous. Even when they are well-intentioned, as

most teachers are, such ineffective teachers have an enduring and negative effect on

the lives of their students.

13. Current teacher tenure, seniority and last in first out deny Plaintiff’s

common law rights to the upbringing and education of her children by preventing

school administrators from prioritizing- or even meaningfully considering-the

interests of their students in having effective teachers when making employment

and dismissal decisions. Especially within the three hundred and fifty low

performing schools identified by the State Department of Education as not making

adequate progress in core subject areas reading and math at a whole school level by

forcing these critical decisions to be made primarily or exclusively on grounds other

than students' need, for effective teachers, and therefore perpetuating the

employment within the school system of a number of ineffective teachers who do

not serve students' needs and who, in fact, have a substantially negative impact on

students' education, these laws infringe upon the Plaintiffs parent’s common law

rights to the upbringing and education of her children.

D. FACTS IN SUPPORT OF CLAIMS FOR RELIEF:

14. Constitutional Educational Rights: The State Constitution guarantees

that every child is provided a substantially equal educational opportunity in its free

public elementary and secondary schools regardless of the child’s town of residence

and that this court has a role in ensuring that our state’s public school students

receive that fundamental guarantee.

15. In addition, on March 22, 2010 the state Supreme Court ruled that

Connecticut school children are guaranteed an adequate standard of quality in their

public school…the state constitution requires "that the public schools provide their

students with an education suitable to give them the opportunity to be responsible

citizens able to participate fully in democratic institutions, such as jury service

and voting, and to prepare them to progress to institutions of higher education, or to

attain productive employment and otherwise to contribute to the state's economy

16. The defendants have ultimate responsibility for Connecticut schools

that cannot be delegated

17. Per Teacher Union request, the Governor of Connecticut and State

board of Education has delayed comprehensive critical teacher evaluations for

several years since 2010.

18. The Connecticut American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has over

29,000 members, which allows for undue influence over the State Board

of Education decision making process. The national American Federation

of Teachers (AFT) represents over 850,000 members which give Meriden

AFT President Erin D. Benham access to unlimited resources and political power to

influence decisions at the State Board of Education as opposed to the low-income

students and their parents that attend over three hundred failing schools in

Connecticut that are eligible for free and reduced lunch based on their income.

19. Connecticut American Federation of Teachers has a documented

history of opposing Parents, especially parents of color, special need parents and

impoverished families, as they advocate and exercise their legal power to ensure

their kids have access to safe and high quality schools. One example of aggressive

opposition was by AFT CT holding national trainings on “How to Diffuse Connecticut

Parent Trigger” with language such as “Kill Mode”

http://rishawnbiddle.org/outsidereports/aft_parentpower_guide.pdf

20. According to the latest round of campaign finance reports, in addition

to the $6.2 million that Connecticut taxpayers gave to pay for Governor Malloy’s re-

election campaign via Connecticut’s Public Financing Program;

21. The American Federation of Teachers has used union dues to donate

$10,000 to Governor Malloy’s campaign via the Connecticut Democratic State Central

Committee and $250,000 to support Governor Malloy through the new Political

Action Committee, Connecticut Forward PAC which raises concerns of graft and

quid-pro quo. The Democratic Governors Association also donated $1.25 million to

the Connecticut Forward PAC.

22. Teachers salaries, benefits, pensions compose up to 70% of

Connecticut’s education funding which allows for the presence of a conflict of

interest by virtue of Erin D. Benham being a public employee with great decision

making authority at the AFT level because she is the President of the Meriden

Federation of Teachers and Executive Committee Vice President of the Connecticut

American Federation of Teachers and as a member of the State Board of education

which allows for a set of circumstances that creates a risk that professional

judgment or actions regarding a primary interest will be unduly influenced by a

secondary interest. Secondary interest includes not only financial gain but also such

motives as the desire for professional advancement and the wish to do favors for

members or future members, but conflict of interest rules usually focus on financial

relationships because they are relatively more objective, fungible, and quantifiable.

The secondary interests are not treated as wrong in themselves, but become

objectionable when they are believed to have greater weight than the primary

interests. The conflict in a conflict of interest exists whether or not a particular

individual is actually influenced by the secondary interest. It exists if the

circumstances are reasonably believed (on the basis of past experience and objective

evidence) to create a risk that decisions may be unduly influenced by secondary

interests.

23. Importance of Effective Teachers: Connecticut public school

teachers play a vital role in providing Connecticut students with the education to

which they are entitled. Recent studies have confirmed that the key determinant of

educational effectiveness is teacher quality. See, e.g., Raj Chetty et al., The Long-Term

Impacts a/ Teachers II: Teacher Value-Added and Student Outcomes in Adulthood,

American Economic Review (forthcoming), available at

http://obs.rc.fas.harvard.edu/chetty/wl9424.pdf. Students taught by effective

teachers are more likely to attend college, attend higher-quality colleges, earn more,

live in higher socioeconomic status neighborhoods, save more for retirement, and

are less likely to have children during their teenage years. Id. Although the majority

of teachers in Connecticut are providing students with a quality education, the

Connecticut State Department of Education has identified over 350 Connecticut K-12

public schools that have failed to meet adequate yearly progress in core subject areas

of reading and math at the whole school level and are being taught by teachers who

fail to provide their students with the high educational standard of learning in core

subjects needed for students to be suitable to participate in democratic institutions,

and to prepare them to attain productive employment and otherwise to contribute to

the state's economy, or to progress on to higher education” (CCJEF v. Rell, 295 Conn.

at 244-45

24. The impact of these ineffective teachers on students is enormous. Even

when they are well-intentioned, as most teachers are, such ineffective teachers have

an enduring and negative effect on the lives of their students. Research clearly states

that effective educators are the most important person in the front of the classroom.

25. Research also states if educators do not have an understanding of the

curriculum, subject content, and the developmental needs of students this creates an

academic achievement gap that has irreparably harm on children especially low-

income and minority students which limits their future ability to take full advantage

of the nation’s democratic processes and institutions, to secure meaningful

employment in the competitive high-skills/high-wage global and local marketplace,

and to successfully continue their education beyond high school. The state’s failure to

provide plaintiff schoolchildren with opportunities to meet the state’s own learning

standards has resulted in a system that fails Connecticut’s students and offends the

Connecticut constitution. The complaint also alleges that the state’s lack of fiscal and

personnel over sight disproportionately impacts African-American, Latino, low-

income and special needs children, in violation of the Connecticut constitution and

federal law.

26. The majority of the 2.3 million people incarcerated in U.S. prisons and

jails are people of color, people with mental health issues and people with low levels

of educational attainment, and people with a history of unemployment or

underemployment.

27. The continued employment of these ineffective teachers in the

Connecticut public school system is the continued enforcement of certain

Connecticut statutes that effectively prevent the removal of ineffective teachers from

the classroom, and, in economic downturns, require layoffs of more competent

teachers. Teacher tenure, seniority and last in first out prevent school

administrators from prioritizing-or even meaningfully considering-the interests of

their students in having effective teachers when making employment and dismissal

decisions. By forcing these critical decisions to be made primarily or exclusively on

grounds other than students' need for effective teachers, and therefore perpetuating

the employment within the school system of a number of ineffective teachers who

do not serve students' needs and who, in fact, have a substantially negative impact on

students' education, these laws

infringe upon Connecticut students' fundamental right to public education in the

Connecticut Constitution (article eighth, § 1)

28. Research through a Harvard study clearly states good teachers are

clearly a critical part of the educational landscape towards improving student

achievement, earnings, quality of life.

http://obs.rc.fas.harvard.edu/chetty/value_added.html

29. In 2010, As a result of the significant number of long term low

performing schools the State of Connecticut passed education reform laws, Public Act

10-111 and Public Act 12-116.

30. Parents across the state of Connecticut, with support from education

advocates introduced a Parent Empowerment bill which became law that allows

parents legal power to help improve low performing schools. The state of

Connecticut has refused to enforce the law leaving close to 200,000 kids trapped in

low performing schools without legal remedy to protect their constitutional

educational rights. In 2010 the number of low performing schools identified by the

state as not having met adequate yearly progress in reading and math on a whole

school level was one hundred and eighty-four (184) and as of April 17, 2013, the

state has identified three hundred and fifty (350) schools as not having met adequate

yearly progress in reading and math on a whole school level which translates close to

200,000 students, majority of color, English Language Learners, those with

disabilities and special needs, and or those children eligible for free/reduced lunch,

attending low performing and/or unsafe schools in need of improvement.

31. Public Act 10-111, resulted in the creation of School Governance

Councils intended to manage and facilitate the receipt of diverse advice, concerns

and recommendations from the parents/legal guardians of children who are enrolled

in schools managed by the local and state Boards of Education, in addition to the

concerns and recommendations of educational professionals and community

advocates. The intent is to engage broad participation in developing comprehensive

corrective school improvement plans to provide significant improvement in

student’s academic achievement. The opportunity for the direct participation and

input of parents in the process to plan for developing comprehensive school

improvement plans is unprecedented.

32. Public Act 10-111 also mandates that School Governance Councils shall

assist school administration in, inter alia, analyzing school achievement data and

school needs as they relate to the school's improvement plan. It further mandates

that School Governance Councils shall assist the principal in making programmatic

and operational changes to improve the schools’ achievement.

33. The School Governance Council consists of seven parents, five

teachers, two community members and students (where appropriate). The

nonvoting member is the principal.

34. In March of 2014 The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil

Rights released report that show students of color are more likely to have

inexperienced teachers. http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/expansive-

survey-americas-public-schools-reveals-troubling-racial-disparities.

Count One: Connecticut Constitutional and Statutory Violation.

Plaintiff have equal protection and due process rights under the

14th Amendment and legal protections from discrimination under Title

VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits racial and ethnic discrimination;

Prayer For Relief

WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs respectfully pray that this Court:

1. Declare that Defendant’s appointment of Erin D.

Benham, President of the Meriden Federation of Teachers and Executive Committee

Vice President of the Connecticut American Federation of Teachers null and void

2. Issue an injunction preventing appointment of Erin D. Benham,

President of the Meriden Federation of Teachers and Executive Committee Vice

President of the Connecticut American Federation of Teachers from taking office

3. Award such other and further relief as the Court deems just and

proper.

Respectfully submitted,