Court Opinion

ID: 9725381
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 11:44:06.254671+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:12:08.379832
License: Public Domain

HUFFMAN, J., Dissenting.
This case presents the question of who should control the curriculum of an educational institution—the administration, the faculty, or the students. Unfortunately, although it disclaims such result, the majority answers the question by permitting the faculty and students to determine curriculum content. To the extent any administration control will remain, it will have to be pursuant to “objective standards” which will lead to court supervision. To reach this unhappy result, the majority opinion has struggled to attempt to overcome the lack of standing of appellant Scott Gundlach and the mootness of the declaratory relief claim of appellant Alan DiBona.
I believe the majority opinion, although scholarly and well written, is truly “advisory” because neither injunctive nor declaratory relief is appropriate to these parties whose relationship with the defendants was severed four years ago. Moreover, the advice it renders is at odds with recent United States Supreme Court authority regarding the power of school administrators to control curriculum content.
*1349Mootness
The “collision” of the respective interests of these parties occurred during the summer of 1986, when DiBona was preparing to offer a class entitled “Drama 250” at the Educational Cultural Complex (ECC), a branch of the San Diego Community College District. As we know, Drama 250 was cancelled, having an official enrollment of only three students, and the play was not produced at the ECC. DiBona, although a teacher in the San Diego Community College system, was not a teacher at the ECC at the time of filing this action and the record does not indicate he is ever likely to return to that facility. DiBona was not punished or disciplined for his participation in the aborted effort to produce the play “Split Second,” nor has the ECC declared a policy of “censorship.” Therefore, in order to determine whether there is a current controversy between DiBona and the defendants, we must examine the relief sought by the complaint.
The complaint seeks declaratory and injunctive relief. It is not a suit for breach of contract, nor does the record reveal DiBona has ever filed a claim with the college system for wages he would have been entitled to had he taught the class at the college.1 The purpose of declaratory relief is to resolve uncertainties and controversies which might result in future litigation. It operates prospectively and does not serve merely to redress past wrongs. (Interstate Marina Development Co. v. County of Los Angeles (1984) 155 Cal.App.3d 435, 443 [202 Cal.Rptr. 377].) Declaratory relief is, rather, an action to declare rights and not an action to execute them. (Babb v. Superior Court (1971) 3 Cal.3d 841, 848 [92 Cal.Rptr. 179, 479 P.2d 379]; Bachis v. State Farm Mutual Auto. Ins. Co. (1968) 265 Cal.App.2d 722, 727 [71 Cal.Rptr. 486].) In short, declaratory relief actions should relate to controversies which are subject to a specific and conclusive remedy and should not be used for the purpose of advisory opinions or scholarly works based upon hypothetical facts. (Zetterberg v. State Dept. of Public Health (1974) 43 Cal.App.3d 657, 661 [118 Cal.Rptr. 100].)
The summer of 1986 has come and gone. The play “Split Second,” for whatever literary and social value it has, was performed by DiBona, Gundlach and their colleagues in a public setting. Neither DiBona nor Gundlach is involved with the ECC, Matthews or Hardison, the entity and persons *1350designated as defendants in this action.2 There is, therefore, no controversy now remaining between DiBona and ECC, Hardison or Matthews warranting a “declaration of rights.” A ringing defense of First Amendment liberties, no matter how satisfying, should in my humble opinion be reserved for matters of actual controversy. Inevitably, the results of a ruling as offered in this case force changes in respective responsibilities between people in real life and should therefore be declared only in real life controversies. We should not ignore general principles which require courts to decide cases and controversies in order to achieve results deemed to be desirable.
As to DiBona’s and Gundlach’s request for injunctive relief, similar considerations apply because of events which have transpired. Ordinarily, injunctive relief is available to prevent threatened injury and is not a remedy designed to right completed wrongs. (Gold v. Los Angeles Democratic League (1975) 49 Cal.App.3d 365, 372 [122 Cal.Rptr. 732].) Unless there is a showing that the challenged action is being continued or repeated, an injunction should be denied. Moreover, absent extraordinary circumstances, injunctive relief should not be granted where the events have rendered such relief unnecessary or ineffectual. (Paul v. Milk Depots. Inc. (1964) 62 Cal.2d 129, 132-133 [41 Cal.Rptr. 468, 396 P.2d 924].) Whether the issue presented by this complaint will ever arise again is highly speculative. Under these circumstances, the court should not intervene to exercise its injunctive powers. At minimum, there should be a showing of reasonable certainty that the acts complained of are either continuing or likely to be repeated before such judicial intervention is warranted. (Gold v. Los Angeles Democratic League, supra, 49 Cal.App.3d at p. 372.)
When DiBona and Gundlach unsuccessfully sought injunctive relief in 1986, they petitioned this court for a writ of supersedeas. We denied their request. They then appealed the denial of the preliminary injunction, but abandoned that appeal on August 29, 1986. Now, four years after the events, with the parties having no relationship to each other and with no indication of any practice, policy or procedure at the ECC that could in any way be deemed censorship, the majority sends this case back to the trial court to declare the rights of the parties and to grant or deny injunctive relief. The time has passed for such relief and the remedies sought should *1351not be stretched in order to provide the vehicle for a judicial restructuring of the division of responsibilities within the school system.3
Standing
Gundlach contends he has standing to pursue declaratory and injunctive relief because, he claims, he is entitled to college credits for the course in which he was never enrolled and which was never conducted at the college. The majority opinion reaches out to establish standing for Gundlach, stating: “The facts are at least susceptible of the interpretation, however, that Gundlach would have been enrolled but for the allegedly unconstitutional acts by the defendants.” (Maj. opn., ante, p. 1339.) The majority further states “the mere fact that Gundlach was never formally enrolled in the course does not necessarily preclude his obtaining relief. If Gundlach can show he satisfied all the course requirements for Drama 250 except those made impossible by defendants, the court could properly conclude that course credit should be awarded and order appropriate declaratory and injunctive relief.” (Maj. opn., ante, p. 1339.) Respectfully, such relief seeks neither a declaration of rights nor an injunction, but a retrospective remedy that compels a school to grant credit for a class allegedly completed four years ago. I confess I am astonished at the notion a court could grant credit to a student for a class never conducted, in which he was never enrolled. Surely, an academic institution which is partially funded based on “official” enrollment, and charged with supervising its classes, should not, by judicial fiat, be required to give academic credit for a rump session of an unauthorized class conducted under unknown circumstances. Such judicial power, if it existed, would be truly awesome.
I submit the majority, feeling strongly about the First Amendment issues raised by this appeal, has chosen to ignore legitimate concerns of the absence of standing and justiciable issues in order to make a policy declaration. In my view, policy declarations ordinarily come from the executive and the legislative branches. Under our tripartite system of government, the judicial branch can make policy declarations only when there is an actual case in controversy brought by parties who have standing. I would not reach the First Amendment issues in this case and would affirm the judgment of the trial court on procedural grounds.
*1352Constitutional Issues
Recognizing as I do the dissenter’s lot of crying out against the inevitable, I turn then to a discussion of the First Amendment issues.
The majority opinion gives a passing nod to the right of school administrators to control curriculum when it says, “Under the guise of free speech, the First Amendment does not transfer control of a public school’s curriculum from school administrators to individual teachers and students.” (Maj. opn., ante, p. 1341.) The opinion then proceeds to redefine that right of control in instances where the legitimate interests of the school administration “collide” with the claimed First Amendment rights of teachers and students. In truth, the majority strikes a serious blow to the ability of school administrators to set and control curriculum content.
The majority opinion relies heavily on the case of Tinker v. Des Moines School Dist. (1969) 393 U.S. 503 [21 L.Ed.2d 731, 89 S.Ct. 733], There the court interpreted the First Amendment rights of students who had sought to wear black armbands on school grounds in order to protest the war in Vietnam. The majority of the court balanced the rights of the students on these facts against those interests of the school administration and held the rights of the students to be superior. The court found no compelling interest on the part of the school to justify limiting the expressive rights of these students. It seems clear to me Tinker dealt with a far different and less compelling set of interests on the part of the school administration than the facts in this case. Nor do I believe the reasoning of the majority in Tinker, which has been severely undercut by more recent United States Supreme Court case law, compels the result advocated by the majority here.
The majority’s analysis of the actions by the ECC administration in this case includes a characterization of the reasons its officials offered to support their conduct in cancelling the class: “(1) there was opposition to the play from the religious community; (2) the subject matter of the play was sensitive given the community unrest in the wake of the Sagon Penn trial; and (3) the language of the play was ‘inappropriate.’ ” (Maj. opn., ante, p. 1341.) Thus, the majority’s focus rests largely on the concerns of ECC administrators for the effects of the play “Split Second” on the community in which the ECC is located and on ECC’s relationship with the people it seeks to serve. Those concerns are dismissed, however, with the statement the school administrators had only an “ ‘undifferentiated fear’ of disturbance” because they knew no facts “indicating a ‘clear and present danger’ of any evil, let alone a ‘serious substantive’ one.” (Maj. opn., ante, p. 1343.)
I respectfully disagree with this somewhat cavalier dismissal of what the trial court found and, I believe to be, legitimate concerns of a community *1353college branch. Further, I believe the majority implies that any curriculum content regulation based upon the impact on the school and the community in such a circumstance must rise to the level of “clear and present danger.” In other words, according to the majority only concerns amounting to a cry of “Fire” in a crowded theatre permit action by school administrators.
The majority’s analysis is at distinct odds with the United States Supreme Court holding in Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1988) 484 U.S. 260 [98 L.Ed.2d 592, 108 S.Ct. 562], In Hazelwood, a high school had prevented publication of two articles in its newspaper prepared by the school’s journalism class. The school’s principal objected to the articles dealing with pregnancy and divorce because of their potential impact on the students and, although there had been some editing of one article unknown to the principal, the students were not permitted to publish them. In ruling in favor of the students, the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit had relied on Tinker v. Des Moines School Dist., supra, 393 U.S. 503, to hold the school newspaper was a public forum in addition to being part of the curriculum and thus the evidence was insufficient to support the principal’s concerns of disruption.
In a six-to-three opinion authored by Justice White, the Supreme Court extensively examined the rights of both students and school administrators. The court noted that the school newspaper (like the production of a play here) was supported principally by school funds. Although some small portion of the cost was recouped, the school was ultimately responsible for this paper’s publication. The court pointed out that schools do not possess all the attributes of a public forum and, where the activities may be fairly characterized as part of the school curriculum, the administration has a good deal of authority over “school-sponsored publications, theatrical productions, and other expressive activities that students, parents, and members of the public might reasonably perceive to bear the imprimatur of the school.” (Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, supra, 484 U.S. at p. 271 [98 L.Ed. 2d at p. 605].) In a statement particularly significant to this case, the court commented: “Educators are entitled to exercise greater control over this second form of student expression to assure that participants learn whatever lessons the activity is designed to teach, that readers or listeners are not exposed to material that may be inappropriate for their level of maturity, and that the views of the individual speaker are not erroneously attributed to the school. Hence, a school may in its capacity as publisher of a school newspaper or producer of a school play ‘disassociate itself,’ [Bethel School District No. 403 v.] Fraser, 478 U.S., at 685, not only from speech that would ‘substantially interfere with [its] work ... or impinge upon the rights of other students,’ Tinker, 393 U.S., at 509, but also from speech that is, for example, ungrammatical, poorly written, inadequately researched, *1354biased or prejudiced, vulgar or profane, or unsuitable for immature audiences. A school must be able to set high standards for the student speech that is disseminated under its auspices—standards that may be higher than those demanded by some newspaper publishers or theatrical producers in the ‘real’ world—and may refuse to disseminate student speech that does not meet those standards. . . .” (Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, supra, 484 U.S. at pp. 271-272 [98 L.Ed 2d at pp. 605-606], fn. omitted.)
Thus, in my view, Hazelwood clearly authorizes the kind of action taken by school administrators in this case.
The majority opinion seeks to distinguish Hazelwood principally because it dealt with high school students and, after all, the ECC is a community college branch.4 I submit the majority’s attempt to distinguish a clear analysis of the relationship between administrators and students is overly facile. A reading of Hazelwood shows the court was concerned with returning discretion to school administrators when dealing with curriculum, particularly where, as here, the school would have to sponsor, promote, advertise, and financially support the “publication.”5
The Supreme Court made clear in Hazelwood that the concern of the “imprimatur of the school” is a legitimate one that needs to be addressed by those persons who must make the daily decisions for the school and who are held accountable for them. To substitute the judgment of an appellate court made after lengthy contemplation and reflection for that of school administrators in a community already wracked by racial tension between the police and the members of that community is, in my opinion, simply inappropriate.6 That a judge, years later, may feel these concerns are “no big deal” does not erase the legitimate contemporaneous perceptions of school administrators who, under these facts, cannot be accused of acting other than in a sincere effort to carry out what they thought to be the best interests of the school.
*1355Before Hazelwood was decided, the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Seyfried v. Walton (3d Cir. 1981) 668 F.2d 214, 216-217, considered the question of school sponsorship as a factor bearing on the ability to control expressive productions. The issue there was whether the school superintendent could cancel a high school production of the musical “Pippin” based upon inappropriate sexual content. Although the script had been edited to remove a good deal of the explicit sexual language, the school superintendent deemed the play inappropriate for production in a high school setting. The Third Circuit analyzed the First Amendment in light of the special circumstances of the school environment. Based upon its analysis of Tinker and Epperson v. Arkansas (1968) 393 U.S. 97 [21 L.Ed.2d 228, 89 S.Ct. 266], the court concluded the implication of school sponsorship from the authorized production of the play could be viewed as an endorsement. The majority in Seyfried held the action of the school superintendent was proper, reasoning: “We agree with the district court that those responsible for directing a school’s educational program must be allowed to decide how its limited resources can best be used to achieve the goals of educating and socializing its students.” (Seyfried v. Walton, supra, 668 F.2d at p. 217.) The court concluded there were sufficient burdens on school administrators, and courts should be reluctant to interfere with the operation of our school system. (Ibid.)7
The concurring opinion in Seyfried written by Judge Rosenn skillfully analyzes the balance between the right of students and teachers to free expression and the right of the school administration to control the school curriculum and environment. He noted the school superintendent did not object to the production of “Pippin” because of its ideas, but because of the explicit sexual overtones. In a comment particularly appropriate to the facts of this case, he observed: “School authorities should have more latitude in limiting the performance by their students in a school forum of a play which the authorities find vulgar and inappropriate because of sharp sexual overtones. Their acquiescence in such a performance might be construed as tacit approval of not only the performance but also the play’s content.” (Seyfried v. Walton, supra, 668 F.2d at p. 220, (conc. opn. of Rosenn, J.); see also Bell v. U-32 Bd. of Educ. (D.Vt. 1966) 630 F.Supp. 939.) 8
Having examined the actions of the ECC officials in light of Hazelwood, I find they set no censorship policy and did not discipline either teacher or *1356students. It was the teacher who brought the play to the attention of the school officials and, in light of its content, its vulgarity, and its impact on the relationship of a community-based educational facility and the community it serves, the school officials made the decision not to produce it. To the extent their concerns regarding the play formed a part of the basis to cancel a class (along with 23 other classes) which had only three enrolled students, this was, in my view, a valid exercise of the discretion vested in them. There was, therefore, no violation of the First Amendment rights of either DiBona or Gundlach.
Finally, the majority opinion recognizes some authority in college officials to limit drama curriculum in light of school sponsorship and “literary” concerns, and that judgments made by those officials are entitled to broad deference if made in advance of the class rather than “as here, sometime after the class has already begun to meet.” (Maj. opn., ante, pp. 1347-1348.)
The class in this case had not officially commenced, as witness the enrollment of only three students. The issues concerning the play were not known to the administration before the unofficial meetings of the class and the administrators acted immediately upon becoming aware of those issues. Respectfully, the majority’s attempt to distinguish the facts of this case from those which recognize the authority of school administrators over curriculum content is a recognition of the weakness of its position. The majority’s creation of a “post-commencement” limitation on curriculum control is not authorized by law and it is an unwarranted judicial intrusion upon the legitimate authority of a school to deal with the content of its curriculum. I would not impose such a rule.
Conclusion
School administrators in facilities such as the one before us are charged with the responsibility to structure and maintain the curriculum and to husband the limited funds provided them to carry out their educational mission. Academic freedom in the form established by the majority opinion would actually give teachers free rein to cover whatever they want, regardless of content or its potential impact on the school.
Requiring a school to pay for, promote, and advertise within the community a particular play which contains considerable vulgarity and is offensive to the community during a highly charged and sensitive time is far different from prohibiting the several students in Tinker from wearing black armbands. I believe the United States Supreme Court has clearly placed significant curriculum and resource decisions in the hands of school adminis*1357trators. The majority unfortunately has snatched that authority from their hands and given it over to individual faculty (regular or part-time) and students. All of this is done in pursuit of academic freedom.
Respectfully, the majority opinion will permit in matters of curriculum content the faculty tail to wag the administration dog. In my view, this sets a bad policy which I hope will not long endure.
Respondents’ petition for review by the Supreme Court was denied July 25, 1990. Arabian, J., was of the opinion that the petition should be granted.

 As pointed out in the majority opinion, the play “Split Second” was produced by DiBona and members of his class at a different institution during the summer of 1986. (Maj. opn., ante, p. 1336.) The class was never authorized by the San Diego Community College, nor were any of the members of the class ever enrolled in or approved for courses outside of the college system. The majority recognizes there is no contract action before the court with regard to DiBona’s lost wages and such claim therefore cannot be the basis for overcoming the defense of “mootness.” (Maj. opn., ante, p. 1340, fn. 7.)

The majority opinion relies in part on the relationship of DiBona and Gundlach to the District as teacher and student at branches other than ECC to support its rejection of mootness. However, the District is not a defendant in this action and there is absolutely no evidence in the record to show the actions in issue here represent any policy or practice of the District. Nor is there the slightest hint in this record of any possible reoccurrence of the peculiar events of this case at some other District facility. In fact, the record demonstrates Mesa College furnished equipment for the performance of the play which was held at a private facility.

 The majority opinion, recognizing the weakness of its position in this regard, states appellants should be allowed to amend their complaint if necessary to add the District as a defendant. (Maj. opn., ante, p. 1340.) Aside from the fact appellants since 1986 have never made such a request, their record contains not the slightest hint of facts to support such an amendment. Nor was the trial court required to “cure” their complaint for them.

 Indeed, the Supreme Court reserved the question of the extent of the applicability of its opinion to college settings as one would expect it to do when dealing with a case in controversy arising from a high school.

 Interestingly, the majority opinion rejects the sponsorship concerns of ECC administrators when it questions “whether the rationale underlying the ‘school sponsorship’ rule would allow its wholesale extension to educational settings involving adults. The general public is likely to view school-sponsored student speech as bearing the ‘imprimatur of the school’ (Hazelwood, supra, 484 U.S. at p. 271 [98 L.Ed.2d at p. 605]) largely because of the greater control elementary and secondary schools exercise over the conduct of minor students.” (Maj. opn., ante, p. 1346.) However strongly the majority may feel on this issue, there is neither factual nor legal support in this record for such speculation.

 As acknowledged by the majority, the murder trial of Sagon Penn had only recently concluded before these events and the administrators of that community-based college were apparently exquisitely aware of the anguish that case and the police relationship to the minority community had produced.

To the same effect, in Epperson v. Arkansas, supra, 393 U.S. at page 104 [21 L.Ed.2d at page 234], the United States Supreme Court stated: “By and large, public education in our Nation is committed to the control of state and local authorities. Courts do not and cannot intervene in the resolution of conflicts which arise in the daily operation of school systems and which do not directly and sharply implicate basic constitutional issues.”

The majority opinion also distinguishes Seyfried and Bell as being cases which deal with high schools and thus inapplicable to college settings.