Milton teacher says Dedham fired him over Pledge of Allegiance, sues school district

One fall Sunday, while attending his son's baseball game, Dedham High School English and special education teacher Thad LaVallee received a call from the school's principal, James Forrest. A parent had complained about LaVallee's lack of patriotism, specifically his refusal to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

LaVallee was fired at the end of the 2018-19 school year. He says it was because of his refusal to stand for the pledge. Forrest says it was due to poor teaching.

The dispute has led to a civil rights lawsuit in federal court, which may soon head to trial, according to court documents.

LaVallee now teaches special education for Milton Public Schools.

LaVallee and Forrest declined to comment through their lawyers. The following account is drawn from court documents.

In his complaint, LaVallee explained that his decision not to stand rests on "his view that liberty and justice is not afforded to all, evidence of which abounds daily."

"(Forrest) made it very clear that it was his expectation that I stood," LaVallee said during a deposition. "And there were these undertones you get from an administrator, especially when you're unprotected without professional teacher status, that you have to obey his rule."

LaVallee, who has a doctorate in educational leadership and policy, had just begun his second year at Dedham High. Previously he had taught at different schools since 1996, court documents say.

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In his deposition, Forrest acknowledged expressing his expectation that LaVallee stand. However, he said the issue played no role in his decision not to renew his contract and that he never sought to enforce the expectation or discipline LaVallee for not meeting it.

In his deposition, LaVallee, who said he teaches students to stand firm in their beliefs, said he faced an ethical dilemma.

"It would be very contradictory of me ... to teach one thing and do the opposite. I think I lose all face and respect and value as a teacher if I do that. On the other hand, ... this is my career. ... I had my family to think about, two children whom I need to provide shelter and food."

'It was very, very abusive.' An unusually hostile parent-teacher conference

Later that week, the parent who complained came to school for a meeting with LaVallee and Forrest in the latter's office. LaVallee said in his deposition that Forrest initially supported him, telling the parent that LaVallee was well-regarded by students and families.

LaVallee said the parent then stated how he had alerted the police of LaVallee's not pledging. There followed what LaVallee perceived as a threat against his family.

According to LaVallee's deposition, the parent produced pictures of his son that were posted online. One picture showed LaVallee's son holding nunchucks while attending a martial arts class, which LaVallee said helped with the boy's anxiety disorder.

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"He produced the picture to assert that I was a violent individual, where I'm having my young child use weapons," LaVallee said in his deposition. "This was a veiled threat, that I'm watching, so you'd better watch your step.

"(The parent) made all kinds of other accusations ..., that I was 'pro-Muslim,' a terrorist lover, anti-police, anti-military, anti-American, all of these things," LaVallee said.

LaVallee questioned why Forrest allowed the meeting to continue.

"As soon as he produced pictures of my children or talked about calling the police, that meeting should have been over right then and there," he said in his deposition. "It was very, very abusive, and frankly very traumatic to sit through."

In his deposition, Forrest acknowledged that the parent had produced pictures of LaVallee's children, describing the parent's behavior as "surprising." He said the parent complained about LaVallee's not standing for the pledge and expressed concern about a political agenda being pushed in the classroom.

Asked if the parent provided specific examples of LaVallee's political agenda in the classroom, Forrest said in his deposition that the parent produced nothing factual, only hearsay. Asked for the content of the "hearsay," Forrest said he couldn't remember.

Some weeks after the meeting, LaVallee said that his union representative, Tim Dwyer, told him that he overheard the parent's child urging other students to fabricate complaints against LaVallee.

"All the students refused to do that," LaVallee said in his deposition. "They said, 'No, we like Dr. LaVallee very much. We wouldn't make up a story about him."

Creating a 'paper trail' or a record of poor performance?

After the meeting with the parent, Forrest scheduled another meeting, this one attended by LaVallee’s supervisors, to discuss classroom expectations. At the meeting, LaVallee said he agreed not to push a political agenda, which he said he had never done in the first place.

Asked how LaVallee had deviated from curriculum by bringing in his political agenda, Forrest said in his deposition that he had no specific examples to cite.

LaVallee said he was now required to meet weekly with English Department Chairwoman Brenda Hagan to review lesson plans for the coming week. Already overburdened by his regular duties, LaVallee said in his deposition that he had little time for extra meetings.

“My day was structured as such that I didn’t even get a lunch break,” LaVallee said. “I’m eating a Clif Bar while I'm doing work.”

An email from Director of Special Education Liza O’Connell sent to Forrest in December 2018 acknowledged the heavy load: “We’re asking a lot of him, and I’m not sure that it is all manageable,” the email reads.

LaVallee said in his deposition that the weekly meeting was meant to police his teaching. Forrest said in his deposition that he didn’t recall if the meetings related to the complaint about the pledge. Rather, he said they were about “curricular alignment” and preparation for MCAS testing.

In April 2019, Vice Principal Kristy Yankee conducted an unannounced observation of LaVallee’s English class and rated him “below proficient” in “classroom management and learning environment,” according to court documents.

LaVallee said in his deposition that Yankee criticized a free-write exercise at the beginning of class because it didn’t relate directly to the curriculum.

In a follow-up meeting, LaVallee said Yankee praised the class highly and accepted his explanation of the free-write exercise. A few days later, however, Yankee called LaVallee to another meeting, this one attended by Hagan, according to LaVallee's deposition.

“Suddenly ... they thought it was the worst class they had ever seen,” he said. “My thought was that they’re going to try to get rid of me, and now they’re trying to create this paper trail to justify that.”

After his termination, students petitioned for LaVallee's reinstatement

In early May 2019, Forrest gave LaVallee notice of his dismissal at the end of the school year. When he asked why he was being fired, LaVallee said in his deposition that Forrest told him he did not follow through on everything administrators asked of him.

“The one thing that whole entire year I didn’t follow through on was standing for the pledge,” LaVallee said.

Forrest said in his deposition that he didn’t recall what he discussed with LaVallee when he fired him. He said LaVallee was let go solely due to his poor teaching performance.

LaVallee said many students wrote letters of support. Some planned a walkout, and 82 signed a petition asking Forrest to reconsider, LaVallee said in his deposition.

“Dr. LaVallee ... has taught us more than any other teacher,” the petition reads. “He has taught us more about the world than the world has taught us itself. Bring Dr. LaVallee back next year.”

Where the case stands in federal court

LaVallee sued Dedham Public Schools in April 2022. After settlement negotiations failed, both parties agreed in November 2023 on a schedule for filing of motions of summary judgment, pretrial conferences and trial dates.

A summary judgment occurs when opposing parties agree on the material facts of the case but disagree on legal interpretation. Under these circumstances, a judge can decide the case without a trial.

Dedham Public Schools, represented by lawyer Brian Lewis, filed a motion for summary judgment in December 2023 on all aspects of the case. LaVallee filed a motion for partial summary judgment, asking a judge to find Dedham Public Schools liable for directing LaVallee to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, which LaVallee says is a violation of his First Amendment rights.

In his motion, LaVallee's lawyer Lucas Newbill said that because the reason for LaVallee's firing is in dispute, the case as a whole is not subject to summary judgment. A judge has not yet issued decisions on these motions.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Milton teacher sues Dedham Public School over freedom of speech