IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

No. 12-30602

MARIANNE FRY; JANICE KNOX; RENELLA S. KENDALL; BOBBY J.

HOOKS; JOHNNIE M. BROWN; JANESTER K. ANDERSON; MAVIS L.

DURR; YVONNE ASBERRY; TERI NICHOLS BARROW; BROWNIE

KRISPIN RENFROE; IRIS LOCURE; ALUSKA FRANCOIS,

Plaintiffs-Appellants

v.

STATE OF LOUISIANA THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC

SAFETY AND CORRECTIONS; MARY LIVERS, Deputy Secretary; STATE

OF LOUISIANA, OFFICE OF JUVENILE JUSTICE, 

Defendants-Appellees

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ALUSKA FRANCOIS,

 Plaintiff-Appellant

v.

DEPUTY SECRETARY MARY LIVERS; STATE OF LOUISIANA, OFFICE

OF JUVENILE JUSTICE

 Defendants-Appellees

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Middle District of Louisiana

USDC No. 3:09-CV-430

United States Court of Appeals

Fifth Circuit

F I L E D

May 13, 2013

Lyle W. Cayce

Clerk

 Case: 12-30602 Document: 00512239505 Page: 1 Date Filed: 05/13/2013
No. 12-30602

Before REAVLEY, JOLLY, and SMITH, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:*

Plaintiffs–Appellants in this appeal are teachers formerly employed by the

State of Louisiana’s Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Office of

Juvenile Justice. They appeal the district court’s grant of summary judgment

for Defendants in their wrongful termination suit. Plaintiffs argue that they

were terminated from their jobs without regard for their tenured status, in

violation of due process. Reviewing the record de novo, see Boudreaux v. Swift

Transp. Co., 402 F.3d 536, 540 (5th Cir. 2005), we AFFIRM for the same reasons

given in the district court’s opinion.

Plaintiffs were formerly employed as tenured teachers at the Jetson

Center for Youth–East Baton Rouge Parish Unit (“Jetson facility”). In 2008, the

Louisiana Legislature enacted La. Rev. Stat. § 15:902.4, which provided for the

closure of the Jetson facility by June 30, 2009. See 2008 La. Sess. Law Serv. Act

565 (S.B. 749) (West). The Legislature later amended the statute to provide for

the conversion of the Jetson facility into a new facility with a new name, a new

mission and teaching model, and a reduced budget and staff. See 2009 La. Sess.

Law Serv. Act 253 (S.B. 302) (West). Both the original and amended versions of

the statute contemplated that the Jetson facility would be closed and the

positions of its staff would be eliminated. For example, both versions of the

statute allowed for a hiring preference within the Department of Public Safety

for those Jetson employees who were involuntarily displaced. We agree with the

district court that because the Legislature eliminated Plaintiffs’ positions, their

tenured status did not afford them special protection, and the reduction in force

was not a violation of due process. See Hays v. La. State Bd. of Elementary &

* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not

be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.

R. 47.5.4.

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No. 12-30602

Secondary Educ., 39 So. 3d 818, 821 (La. Ct. App. 2010) (stating that the

Louisiana teacher tenure law “was not intended ‘to guarantee job security where

there were no jobs’” (quoting Rousselle v. Plaquemines Parish Sch. Bd., 633 So.

2d 1235, 1243 (La. 1994)).

AFFIRMED.

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