Opinion ID: 2995183
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Class Placement

Text: The Billings claim that B.B.’s third- grade classroom assignment for the 1999- 2000 school year was based on race. The district court held that the Billings did not meet their burden of showing that Ms. Perry assigned B.B. to Ms. Zabel’s class based on B.B.’s race. In our view, the record supports the district court’s holding. Evidence in the record shows that Ms. Perry made her decision based on two race-neutral reasons: (1) B.B.’s parents had expressed their desire for B.B. to be with a teacher who had high expectations, and Ms. Perry believed Ms. Zabel would meet those needs; (2) Ms. Perry did not select the two remaining classrooms because B.B. had experienced problems with special education students placed in each of those classrooms. These race-neutral reasons will not support an equal protection violation. A plaintiff asserting an equal protection violation must establish that a state actor purposefully treated him differently because of his race. See Coalition to Save Our Children v. State Bd. of Educ., 90 F.3d 752, 763 (3d Cir. 1996) (holding that, although a disproportionate number of African- American students were placed in special education, there was no equal protection violation because the record revealed that placement was accomplished solely through the use of race-neutral criteria). Indeed, the Billings even have failed to show that there was a disproportionate number of African- American students in the class to which B.B. was assigned. Ms. Zabel’s class had slightly more African-American students-- one more than Ms. Bostrom’s, two more than Mr. Weisner’s, and three more than Ms. Wilke-Nadler’s--but overall Ms. Zabel’s, Mr. Weisner’s, and Ms. Wilke- Nadler’s classrooms each had a total of twelve minority students. In a further effort to show that B.B. was placed in Ms. Zabel’s class because of her race, the Billings maintain that B.B. was assigned to that section to serve as a role model for other African- American students. The Billings rely heavily on the Supreme Court’s decision in Wygant v. Jackson Board of Education, 476 U.S. 267 (1986) (plurality opinion), to support their claim that such a motivation for classroom placement violated B.B.’s equal protection rights. The record shows that B.B. was the only African-American student in the class who did not live in Wexford Ridge, a neighborhood within the school district where a number of African-American students lived. She was also the only African-American student without a low aptitude in reading and math. Nonetheless, the district court determined that, without question, B.B. was not assigned to Ms. Zabel’s class to be a role model. We agree. The Billings provide no evidence that Ms. Perry ever considered that B.B. could be a role model for other African-American students or assigned her to Ms. Zabel’s class for that reason. On the contrary, as we already have noted, the record makes clear that Ms. Perry had race-neutral reasons for making the placement. The Billings only became concerned about B.B.’s possible status as a role model after a telephone conversation between Principal Burmaster and Mrs. Billings. During this conversation, which focused primarily on a disciplinary incident in Ms. Zabel’s class, Principal Burmaster mentioned that he hoped B.B. could be a role model for these other children. Sharon Billings Dep. at 111. Principal Burmaster’s remark is ambiguous as to the children for whom he hoped that B.B. could be a role model; the Billings have provided no evidence justifying their assumption that the principal was referring only to African-American students. Additionally, the principal’s offhand remark is irrelevant to our review of the assignment process because it is undisputed that Principal Burmaster did not participate in making the classroom assignments. The Billings have failed to establish a prima facie case for an equal protection violation on their claim that B.B. was assigned to Ms. Zabel’s class on the basis of race. The district court correctly determined that summary judgment ought to be granted to the defendants on this claim.