NEW ORLEANS – A former substitute teacher at a charter school is seeking the rescission of his termination after a discussion with students over the use of a racial slur.
Ryan S. Brown filed a complaint on June 13 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against Advocates for Academic Excellence in Education Inc., doing business as Benjamin Franklin High School, and Patrick Widhalm alleging that they violated the First and 14th Amendment to the Constitution.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff was terminated from his position as a full-time substitute teacher after a discussion with students over the use of a racial slur. The plaintiff holds Advocates for Academic Excellence in Education Inc. and Widhalm responsible because the defendants allegedly deprived and denied plaintiff's constitutionally protected liberty and property interests and terminated his employment in response to ameliorate the public outcry that had resulted from plaintiff's use of a highly charged term.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks rescission of plaintiff’s termination, compensation for plaintiff's losses and damages, attorney’s fees, interest and costs and all other equitable relief to which plaintiff may be entitled. He is represented by Michael S. Fawer in New Orleans.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana case number 2:17-cv-05754