Dr. Lana Foster v. Shannon King

── Dr. Lana Foster v. Shannon King ── Case No.: 24-12144 Court: Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Date: March 18, 2026 Category: NEW USCA11 Case: 24-12144 Document: 39-1 Date Filed: 03/18/2026 Page: 1 of 19 FOR PUBLICATION In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit ____________________ No. 24-12144 ____________________ DR. LANA FOSTER, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus ECHOLS COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, ECHOLS COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION, Defendants, SHANNON KING, et al., individually and in their official capacities, Defendants-Appellants. ____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia D.C. Docket No. 7:23-cv-00089-WLS ____________________ Before ROSENBAUM, GRANT, and BRASHER, Circuit Judges. GRANT, Circuit Judge: USCA11 Case: 24-12144 Document: 39-1 Date Filed: 03/18/2026 Page: 2 of 19 2 Opinion of the Court 24-12144 Dr. Lana Foster was one of the first black children to integrate Echols County Schools. Later, she was one of the first black faculty members in the district—until she was fired in 2018. The school board cited ethical violations, but during her tenure alone, the district had settled at least three complaints relating to racially discriminatory employment practices—so Foster had her doubts. And when she filed a charge with the EEOC for employment discrimination and retaliation, the district settled those claims, too. The resulting settlement agreement required the school district to promptly take certain actions, but Foster says they did nothing. She turned to federal court, suing the district, the school board, the school board members, and the former and current school superintendents. This time, the defendants did not settle. Instead, they all moved to dismiss. In particular, the school officials invoked qualified immunity, arguing that their alleged conduct— refusing to implement Foster’s settlement agreement based on their racial animus toward her—did not violate clearly established law. This last question is the only one on appeal, and we agree with the district court that qualified immunity does not apply; the school officials were on notice that interfering with a contract because of race was illegal. Still, the officials object that qualified immunity must apply because whether they can be held personally liable under § 1981 is an open question. And without certainty USCA11 Case: 24-12144 Document: 39-1 Date Filed: 03/18/2026 Page: 3 of 19 24-12144 Opinion of the Court 3 about their personal potential for liability, they say, qualified immunity applies even in the face of plainly illegal conduct. No. An official’s understanding about whether he may be held liable is irrelevant. Qualified immunity asks whether officials were on notice that their alleged conduct was unlawful—not whether they could be sued for it. We affirm. I. Foster has lived in Echols County her whole life. 1 First making history integrating the local schools, she later became one of