McDaniel

Introduction

Plaintiff and appellant Marceline S. McDaniel, an employee of defendant and respondent Mountain View School District, sued the District, the Board of Education of the Mountain View School District, the individual members of the Board, and the Superintendent of Schools (hereafter collectively referred to as respondent). Appellant alleged that respondent wrongfully denied appellant’s late application to participate in an early retirement program. Contending that this denial was in retaliation for appellant’s prior public criticism of the Board, appellant asserted a cause of action for violation of the federal Civil Rights Act, 42 United States Code section 1983 . The trial court sustained a demurrer to appellant’s complaint, without leave to amend, on the ground of appellant’s prior failure to seek judicial review of respondent’s action by writ of mandate. We reverse, concluding that because Code of Civil Procedure section 1094.5 does not apply to the facts of this case, appellant was not required to file a writ of mandate before pursuing her federal cause of action.

Factual and Procedural Background

Appellant was employed by respondent as a school nurse and…