Rest easy, America, because a state appeals court has ruled that New York City’s Department of Education had no right to fire two female foreign language instructors at Brooklyn’s James Madison High School for getting busy in a classroom one steamy night way back in 2009.
In a decision handed down on Thursday, the appellate judges concluded that the teachers’ behavior “demonstrated a lapse in judgment” but was just “a one-time mistake,” reports CBS New York.
The instructors involved in the raunchy rendezvous are Spanish teacher Alina Brito, 34, and French teacher Cindy Mauro, 38.
Investigators say they had returned to school to see a student musical performance after going out for dinner and a few shots together, explains the New York Daily News.
At some point, they stole away to a dimly lit Room 337 at James Madison High for a quick romp. Specifically, the investigation alleges, one of the teachers was stripped from the waist up. The other one was down on her knees.
An unidentified janitor who had no appreciation for live teacher-on-teacher classroom action caught the couple in the act and made a report to school officials.
After spending time in New York City’s infamous teacher rubber rooms, Brito and Mauro were fired in January 2011.
The teachers defended their actions by saying that Brito, a diabetic, needed candy for her blood sugar. However, nobody – not even the appellate judges – appeared to buy this version of events.
At the same time, the five-judge panel observed that both teachers had otherwise exemplary records and, consequently, a half-naked, consensual lesbian groping session in a classroom did not merit termination.
Calling termination “shockingly disproportionate,” the appeals court remanded the case to city education officials for a more lenient punishment.
Obviously, Brito and Mauro are pleased with the outcome.
“My clients will be happy to be back in the classroom doing a job they love,” attorney Michael Valentine told the Daily News.
“They were both good at what they did,” Valentine added.
It’s not clear if Brito and Mauro will now actually seek to have their jobs reinstated. However, Valentine said, they will definitely seek back pay.
City education officials are mulling an appeal.
“We are disappointed with the decision and are considering our options,” Education Department spokesman David Pena told the Daily News.
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