Former head basketball coach and special education teacher Mike Molieri filed a civil rights lawsuit against the District on Tuesday, Oct. 28. The lawsuit, made public on Nov. 18, accuses the District of discrimination on the basis of age and race, employment discrimination, and retaliation. This comes six months after M. Molieri filed a tort claim against the District, also claiming retaliation and discrimination. This is now the 10th ongoing legal conflict involving the District.
M. Molieri alleges he was mistreated when he was placed on paid administrative leave on Aug. 12, 2024. The District took this action while investigating allegations against M. Molieri, including student privacy violations and the solicitation of private investigative services from his brother, Dan Molieri. M. Molieri denies all these accusations, instead claiming he was targeted by the District because of his Hispanic descent.
M. Molieri has worked at M-A as a teacher since 2003 and a basketball coach since 2012. In the 466 days M. Molieri has been on leave, the District has provided minimal comment on his absence, in large part because M. Molieri never waived his confidentiality rights. These rights—extended to all government employees—prevent government agencies from discussing personnel matters in public forums, like board meetings. Still, many of the District’s monthly board meetings have heard extensive public comment from D. Molieri, staff, students, and community members regarding M. Molieri’s absence and treatment.
“He was a very motivated person. He wanted everyone on the team to get better and he was very positive. He made basketball really fun for the guys playing summer league,” senior basketball player Bryce Winters said.
Unlike the earlier tort claim, the lawsuit names specific defendants—Superintendent Crystal Leach, former Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Todd Beal, and current Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Bonnie Hansen—in addition to the District itself.
M. Molieri claims that he was placed on administrative leave in violation of the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA), which protects federal employees from retaliation when they report unlawful governmental behavior.
In the lawsuit, he explains that, following an altercation between a student and the Atherton Police Department in April 2023, Leach, Beal, Hansen, and the District illegally released confidential information regarding the student’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP). The lawsuit alleges that their conduct violated the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
M. Molieri claims that in February 2024, the District’s lawyer, Eliza McArthur, urged him to participate in litigation against the District following the student’s arrest, allegedly threatening to inform Leach if he refused. M. Molieri also claims that, around the same time, McArthur falsely accused him of violating IDEA.
M. Molieri claimed he later issued a complaint about McArthur’s conduct to Leach, who said she would investigate. However, no action was taken because McArthur was not an official District employee. Four months later, M. Molieri received a letter from Beal notifying him that he would be placed on paid administrative leave effective Aug. 12, 2024.
That September, M. Molieri and his counsel requested that the District provide sufficient reasoning as to why he was placed on leave. The same month, he filed an unfair practice charge with the Sequoia District Teachers Association against the District.
Though the District responded in October that they intended to investigate the claims against him, M. Molieri was not contacted by the District until April 2025 to be “interrogated.” Two days before the meeting, the District investigator canceled, citing that M. Molieri had requested more time to prepare. M. Molieri denies having made this request. The District later clarified that they needed additional time to prepare and finally met with M. Molieri on June 4 and 24, 2025.
“SUHSD has failed to adequately and timely investigate this matter. As a result of Defendant SUHSD’s conduct, [M. Molieri] missed the entire 2024-25 academic year, and now the start of the following 2025-26 year as well,” the lawsuit says. “The conduct of Defendants has caused significant damage to [M. Molieri’s] reputation and has destroyed his decades long career of teaching and coaching.”
The lawsuit indicates that M. Molieri seeks a trial by jury and compensatory damages, but does not specify the amount.
M. Molieri, Hansen, Leach, Beal, and the District did not respond to requests for comment in time for the publication of this article.
