Vora v. N.Y.C. Dep't of Educ.

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Shreedevi Vora, Plaintiff, v. New York City Department of Education et al., Defendants.

No. 1:22-cv-10891 (PGG) (SDA)

United States District Court, S.D. New York

January 24, 2024

TO THE HONORABLE PAUL G. GARDEPHE, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE:

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

STEWART D. AARON, UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE.

Pro se plaintiff Shreedevi Vora (“Plaintiff” or “Vora”) brings this action alleging race national origin and disability discrimination and retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq.; 42 U.S.C. § 1981 (“§ 1981”); the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (the “ADA”), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.; the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (the “Rehabilitation Act”), 29 U.S.C. § 701 et seq.; the New York State Human Rights Law (“NYSHRL”), N.Y Exec. Law § 290 et seq.; and the New Yok City Human Rights Law (“NYCHRL”), N.Y. City Admin Code § 8-101 et seq. (Compl., ECF No. 1, at p. 4.)

Presently before the Court are motions by defendants New York City Department of Education (“DOE”) and Kristin Erickson and Paul Rotondo (together, the “Individual Defendants” and, collectively with the DOE, the “Defendants”), pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, to dismiss the Complaint for failure to state a claim. (DOE Mot., ECF No. 14; Indiv. Defs.' Mot., ECF No. 28.) For the reasons set forth below, I respectfully recommend that Defendants' motions be GRANTED and that Plaintiff be given leave to amend.

BACKGROUND^[1]

Vora has been employed by the DOE as a biology and science teacher since 2003 and has been teaching at the Manhattan Comprehensive Night and Day High School (“MCNDHS”) since September 2008. (Compl., ECF No. 1, ¶ 1.) Vora identifies as South Asian Indian and, in or around 2014, was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. (Id. ¶ 2.)

In February 2020, Principal Erikson, then an Assistant Principal, filed corporal punishment allegations against Vora. (Compl. ¶ 4.) Those allegations ultimately were dismissed by the DOE as unfounded. (Id.)

On October 22, 2021, during a “school culture preservation meeting” with David DiPadova, the United Federation of Teachers (“UFT”) Chapter Leader for MCNDHS, Vora learned from another teacher of color, Clay Davis, that he had been reprimanded and summoned to a disciplinary hearing for stepping into the laboratory preparation area adjacent to the science classroom while covering a class for an absent teacher. (Comp. ¶ 4.) Learning about Davis's disciplinary summons “triggered” Vora, who saw it as another example of a teacher of color “receiv[ing] punishment for a situation that warranted conversation[.]” (Id.) The same day, Vora “revealed” to DiPadova that Principal Erickson's behavior had been targeted towards teachers of color and was punitive in nature. (Id. ¶ 15; see also id. ¶¶ 9, 16.)

On October 26, 2021, Principal Erikson visited Vora's ICT Living Environment class,^[2] which Vora co-taught with Travis Morin, for an informal, unannounced observation. (Compl. ¶ 5.) Prior to the visit, Morin had been sick with an illness that prevented him from speaking for three weeks. (Id.) During that time, Vora taught the class without his support in class or with lesson plans. (Id.) The week of October 26, Morin's voice was back and Vora and Morin agreed that he would lead the class. (Id.) Principal Erikson rated Vora mostly ineffective on the observation while Morin received positive ratings. (Id.) Previously, Vora consistently had received satisfactory, highly effective, and effective ratings in different domains during observations. (Id. ¶ 3.)

In a post-observation meeting the following day, Vora explained to Principal Erickson the situation regarding Morin's voice loss and that she had modified her lesson plan to allow Morin to lead an activity that he was comfortable with to help him get re-adjusted to the classroom. (Compl. ¶ 6.) Vora asked Principal Erickson not to write an observation report for her since she was not meant to teach during that period. (Id.) Principal Erikson previously had stated that if she was observing a class that did not go well, she would not write a report and would observe the class another time. (Id.) However, Principal Erickson insisted that she would write the report rating Vora “ineffective” in most domains. (Id.) Principal Erickson also recommended that Vora observe other ICT co-teaching models and work with special education Assistant Principal (“AP”) Raquel Hernandez on a weekly basis for special education ICT models and strategies. (Id. ¶ 7.) Vora informed Principal Erickson that she was uncomfortable working with AP Hernandez because AP Hernandez had asked Vora “to sign inaccurate language for students' [individual education plans] . . . including modifying lesson plans for students with disabilities[,]” even though Vora did not have the appropriate licensing to do so. (Id.) AP Hernandez had, on another occasion, yelled at Vora in front of students. (Id.)

Following the October 27, 2021 meeting with Principal Erickson, Vora received emails from AP Hernandez pressuring Vora to meet with her during Vora's only preparation period and her lunch period. (Compl. ¶ 8.) UFT District Representative Patricia Crispino informed Vora that, in accordance with her UFT contract, no meetings were to be conducted, mandated or recommended during a teacher's preparation and lunch periods. (Id. ¶¶ 8, 11.) Vora told AP Hernandez, as she had told Principal Erickson, that she “needed a different kind of support” because the constant emailing was stressful, she felt pressured “to do things that seemed out of the bounds of what professional ethics require[d]” and the tone of AP Hernandez's emails was causing her a lot of anxiety. (Id. ¶ 8.)

On November 1, 2021, Vora filed a complaint with the UFT regarding the classroom observation. (Compl. ¶ 10.) However, she did not submit the complaint to Principal Erickson within the required five-day period and, therefore, the UFT could not proceed with the complaint. (Id.) On November 18, 2021, Vora asked District Representative Crispino to contact Principal Erickson for a three-way meeting to request that Principal Erickson consider removing the observation report from Vora's file and giving her “the support that [she] had requested to teach the ICT class.” (Id. ¶ 11.) Vora had learned from UFT District Representatives that Principal Erickson violated observation policies when she observed and rated both Vora and Morin at the same time. (Id.) District Representative Crispino reached out to Principal Erickson to request a three-way meeting, but Principal Erickson refused to meet. (Id.)

On December 16, 2021, Vora let the school know she would be absent because she was having symptoms of COVID-19. (Compl. ¶ 12.) Vora also sent an email outlining what was needed for each period she would be missing for the next two days. (Id.) AP Hernandez replied with a “sarcastic and hostile” response, copying all the other administrators in the school, and demanding that Vora be more specific. (Id.) Vora previously had used the same email format without any feedback and Morin also had used a similar format. (Id.) After Vora pointed out that faculty had never been required to follow a format for reporting absences, Principal Erickson sent an email to the entire faculty regarding an “absent” e-mail format. (Id.)

Vora experienced targeted behavior for requesting more personal protective equipment and spacing for in-person meetings due to COVID-19. (Compl. ¶¶ 13-14.) For example, in September 2021, Vora suggested that teachers should have Zoom in their classrooms instead of having faculty meetings in the auditorium. (Id. ¶ 14.) Principal Erickson insisted on in-person meetings so Vora, who was extra cautious, sat by the window “to stay within the airflow.” (Id.) Then, in December 2021, when the Omicron variant of COVID-19 was circulating, that window was blocked by SMART boards with no reason given for why airflow was being restricted. (Id.) Vora alleges that this action was targeted towards her. (See id.)

On or about January 6, 2022, Vora retained an attorney to send a letter to retired Superintendent of Transfer High Schools, Paul Rotondo, regarding the observation by Principal Erickson on October 26, 2021. (Compl. ¶ 17.) On January 19, 2022, Superintendent Rotondo invited Vora to a Zoom conference and sent her a resolution letter informing her that the observation would be removed from her file, but she would have to continue co-teaching the Living Environment class. (Id. ¶ 18.) On or about February 28, 2022, Vora's attorney sent a follow- up letter to Superintendent Rotondo because Principal Erickson was not adhering to some of the terms of Superintendent Rotondo's resolution. (Id. ¶ 19.)

On March 4, 2022, Superintendent Rotondo issued a second resolution letter granting Vora a disability-based accommodation, based on a letter from Vora's psychiatrist, assuring Vora that she would be directly supervised by, and work collaboratively with, Assistant Principal of Math and Science, Jimyung Nam. (Compl. ¶ 20.) Shortly after Superintendent Rotondo issued the second resolution letter, Principal Erickson hired a fifth Assistant Principal, Lafleur King, an English teacher, and put AP King in charge of supervising Vora. (Id. ¶ 21.) Vora alleges that this was in retaliation for an email she sent on March 23, 2022 to Superintendent Rotondo, Principal Erickson and others, informing them that she was concerned that a fifth administrator had been hired at MCNDHS; that academic departments in the school had been eliminated; and that the school had been reorganized suddenly and non-transparently. (Id. ¶ 22.)

Principal Erickson, former Superintendent...