White Drama Teacher's Racial Discrimination Lawsuit Dismissed By Judge

EVANSTON, IL — A federal judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit filed by a longtime middle school drama teacher who alleged she faced racial discrimination because she is white.

Stacy Deemar, 52, of Wilmette, sued Evanston/Skokie School District 65 and a trio of top administrators in June 2021, alleging intentional discrimination and a racially hostile educational environment in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection.

Deemar contended she has been discriminated against by her employers through their "racial equity" policies, which she claims has stigmatized her and subjected her to a hostile educational environment. Represented by attorneys from the Atlanta-based nonprofit Southeastern Legal Foundation, she sought a declaratory judgment that the district violated her civil rights, an order to stop doing so and a nominal award of $1.

Her complaint prompted a protest, and district administrators suggested someone broke into the then-superintendent's car in response to the lawsuit and "polarizing media coverage." Attorneys for the district sought to dismiss the case, while Deemar's attorneys from the nonprofit Southeastern Legal Foundation pushed for discovery to proceed.

Discriminatory race-based actions alleged in the complaint included the promotion of "equity" over "equality," race-conscious messaging in employee training, racial affinity groups for both staff and students, "privilege walks," mandatory readings of "White Fragility" and implementing a Black Lives Matter curriculum that Deemar claimed targeted and stereotyped white people.

U.S. District Judge John Tharp found Deemar lacked standing to pursue her Title VI discrimination claims because she herself was never treated differently than other district educators in terms of her exposure to race-conscious curriculum, never personally subject to race-based affinity groups and never denied any benefits nor subject to any negative treatment.

"She never alleges that she attended any racially segregated meetings or training, or that she otherwise would have sought the benefits associated with attending the meetings and racial sensitivity training if not for their segregated nature," Tharp said. "Nor does she allege that they were mandatory, in the sense that her failure to attend caused her to suffer any sort of adverse consequences."

Tharp compared the case to the 2017 case of Moore v Bryant, which found that a Black prosecutor did not have standing to challenge the constitutionality of Mississippi's state flag because it included a Confederate battle flag on its corner at the time.

"Just as the Black prosecutor was subjected to the same treatment as every other prosecutor vis-à-vis the state flag (i.e., exposed to it in courtrooms)," the judge said, "Deemar was treated the same way as every other District teacher with respect to the majority of the conduct about which she complains."

Deemar's complaint does describe an incident at a February 2016 drama department meeting in which she spoke out about the contents the book "Drama of Color" by Johnny Saldana, which was required reading for teachers that included discussions of racism and race-conscious educational efforts.

"When [Deemar] expressed these concerns, her colleagues interrupted her, rolled their eyes, and told Plaintiff she did not know what she was talking about," her suit alleged. "[Deemar] concluded that if she voiced her concerns further, she would be marginalized and face further humiliation from her colleagues. That was the one and only time [she] spoke out to District 65 against the District’s materials or policies."

But Tharp said the teacher's suit failed to identify any state action related to that incident, and nothing in it suggested her treatment was based on her race rather than her speech.

As for the existence of race-based affinity groups for students, Deemar was not affected by them herself and cannot assert their rights through her complaint, the judge noted.

"In short, Deemar fails to identify any discriminatory conduct that caused her to suffer a concrete and personalized injury sufficient to invoke this Court's subject matter jurisdiction. Accordingly, her discrimination claim is dismissed without prejudice for lack of subject matter jurisdiction," Tharp ruled.

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As for her hostile educational environment claim, the judge found it failed to state a claim because she "has not plausibly alleged that she suffered from a hostile environment such that it denied her from receiving educational benefits."

Title VI explicitly excludes claims of employment discrimination, which is "undoubtedly" why Deemar's lawyers alleged she suffered a hostile educational environment.

"No matter how severe or abusive her environment was, it could not have plausibly denied her access to educational benefits because she does not allege that she was a student at the school," Tharp said.

Since it is "not inconceivable" that Deemar may be able to allege her standing and the nature and purpose of federal money received by the district in future court filings, Tharp dismissed her three-count complaint without prejudice, allowing her the possibility of refiling it in the future.

A District 65 spokesperson said the district is still reviewing the opinion and will provide a formal statement next week.

“We can say that we are gratified that the court has dismissed the case,” Melissa Messinger told Patch.

Deemar's attorney, Kimberly Herman of the Southeastern Legal Foundation, provided a statement leaving open the possibility of filing another version of the suit.

“We are currently reviewing the district court’s opinion. The court made clear that Mrs. Deemar has a conceivable claim and that she has permission to amend her complaint," it said.

"We are evaluating all of Mrs. Deemar’s legal options.”

Earlier:

• White Teacher Suing Over 'Antiracism' In Evanston Schools Pushes For Discovery
• Drama Teacher's Discrimination Suit Falls 'Woefully Short,' District 65 Says In New Filing
• Racist Voicemail, Vandalism Follow Teacher's Lawsuit: District 65
• 'White Victimhood': Teacher's Critical Race Theory Suit Condemned
• 'Anti-Racist' Teaching Is Racist, Unconstitutional: District 65 Teacher