Kirchmann

The issue in this case is whether the Lake Elsinore Unified School District (the District) is immune from suit under title 42 United States Code section 1983 (hereafter section 1983) as an instrumentality of the State of California. As we will discuss, public education in California is “uniquely a fundamental concern of the State” (Butt v. State of California (1992) 4 Cal.4th 668, 685 [ 15 Cal.Rptr.2d 480 , 842 P.2d 1240 ]), and “[t]he Constitution has always vested ‘plenary’ power over education not in the districts, but in the State . . . .” (Id., at p. 688.) Therefore, in accordance with authority of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals holding that a California school district is an arm of the state for Eleventh Amendment purposes (Belanger v. Madera Unified School Dist. (9th Cir. 1992) 963 F.2d 248, 254 ), we will conclude the District does enjoy the state’s immunity from liability under section 1983.

I

Factual and Procedural Background

The facts are set forth in detail in this court’s previous decision in this case, Kirchmann v. Lake Elsinore Unified School Dist. (1997) 57 Cal.App.4th 595 [ 67 Cal.Rptr.2d 268 ]. Norma Kirchmann, an employee of the District, was…