Miller Creek School District sued by former teacher
A former special education teacher in the Miller Creek School District has filed a lawsuit against the district, alleging whistleblower retaliation after she tried to warn staff members they were violating public health and special education requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Michelle Harrison Gehman, who was known as Michelle Harrison during the period from about August 2020 to July 2021 when the alleged retaliation took place, filed the case on Oct. 5 in Marin County Superior Court.
Harrison alleges she experienced incidents of harassment and discrimination after telling other staffers that they and the district were violating COVID-19 protocols and laws regarding special education students’ individualized educational plans, or IEPs. Some of the alleged violations included not providing safety equipment for staff and not completing educational services outlined in the IEPs.
After her warnings, Harrison endured threats of demotion, was told to keep quiet about students’ needs, had her class instructional assistants removed and was ostracized or excluded from gatherings or meetings, said Donald Velez, one of her attorneys. The school also sent her class a student who had tested positive for COVID-19, Velez said.
“Rather than take plaintiff’s reports and emails seriously, the district took adverse employment action against plaintiff,” the lawsuit says.
Other alleged harassment included not providing transportation for some of Harrison’s students, attempting to coerce her to falsify records for a sick day and telling her that she would never be able to work for another district in Marin.
“She got put through the wringer,” Velez said.
The harassment culminated in the district placing a notice of whistleblower activity in Harrison’s employment file, according to Greg Rolen, another attorney for the plaintiff. Harrison tried to have the notice removed from her file, but the district denied that request, Rolen said.
“Michelle was a special ed teacher in good standing for seven years with the district,” Rolen told the Miller Creek School District trustees at their board meeting on Oct. 10. “She even taught some of your children.”
Harrison left Miller Creek in July 2021 to work as a teacher in Arizona. She returned to the county earlier this year and is working for a private firm, Velez said.
The defendants include the district; Becky Rosales, the district superintendent; Tenisha Tate-Austin, the former middle school principal; and other administrators and staff members.
The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, as well as attorney fees.
Rosales declined to respond to questions about the suit or whether retaliation took place.
“The district does not comment on matters of pending litigation,” Rosales said.
The district is required to submit a response to the complaint within 30 days of the filing.
The case has been assigned to Judge Stephen Freccero. The initial case management conference is scheduled for Feb. 20.