A former teacher in Aurora produced no evidence the school district discriminated against him on the basis of his age, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday in throwing out the civil rights lawsuit of David Trujillo.

Trujillo attempted to argue Aurora Public Schools acted with discriminatory intent when it ended his position at North Middle School, then ended a temporary assignment at another location, and finally failed to place him at any other school. But U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney saw nothing in the school district’s actions that raised Trujillo’s age as a factor.

“There’s just a complete and utter lack of argument or facts presented on this case to even engage in meaningful analysis. It’s not enough for the plaintiff to throw things against the wall and assert discrimination,” she said in an oral ruling from her courtroom.

In contrast to other lawsuits, the events in Trujillo’s case were largely agreed upon by both sides.

Trujillo began working at APS in 2011 before transferring to North in 2016, where he taught sixth grade social studies. In the middle of the 2018-2019 school year, Principal Brian Duwe held a meeting where he informed Trujillo the school would pivot to a focus on literacy. Social studies teachers would require an endorsement in English Language Arts if they wanted to continue teaching at North, but the department would nonetheless be reduced from six teachers to three.

To get an endorsement, teachers need to demonstrate proficiency in a content area by either having a bachelor’s degree, possessing a certain number of credit hours, or by taking a competency exam known as the PRAXIS.

Trujillo did not have an English endorsement, but soon after the meeting he asked Duwe in the hallway whether he could take the PRAXIS exam to keep teaching at North. Duwe, according to Trujillo, said the school was “going in a different direction.”

At the end of the school year, only one of North’s social studies teachers remained, as she had an English endorsement. The school hired two other teachers, both of whom were younger than Trujillo and had English endorsements.

Although Trujillo interviewed for other jobs, he was only able to secure a one-year transfer to Aurora Hills Middle School during the 2019-2020 school year. In September 2020, he received an offer at Aurora West College Prep Academy, but turned it down in order to work in Adams County.

Trujillo, who was 45 as of early 2019, alleged APS violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act when it ended his employment at North and did not place him in a permanent position. He cited two pieces of evidence from which he believed a jury could find some ulterior motive in the district’s actions.

First, Buwe’s alleged comment in the hallway that North was “going in a different direction” could have shown Trujillo was no longer wanted at the school, even if he had taken the PRAXIS exam. Second, of the 10 positions Trujillo applied for in APS, the district hired younger candidates for seven of those.

The school district asked Sweeney to find APS could not be held liable for age discrimination. It pointed to a lack of any age-related comments or other evidence that could cause a jury to disbelieve the district’s stated explanation for ending Trujillo’s employment at North.

“Basically, plaintiff is suggesting there was a grand conspiracy not to hire him – and there’s no evidence of that whatsoever,” attorney Travis J. Miller argued to Sweeney on Tuesday. “The school district needed to improve its lagging reading scores. That was a critical thing. There’s no dispute whether that was a legitimate reason.”

Sweeney, in her ruling, ticked through the facts of the case that disproved Trujillo’s claim of discrimination. First, Trujillo never received the English endorsement that would have enabled him to stay at North. Second, Duwe provided a favorable letter of recommendation for Trujillo that explained the restructuring of the social studies department as the reason for his termination. Third, Trujillo had admitted in a deposition that he “cannot say” and did “not know” whether his age was a factor in the district’s hiring decisions.

Finally, the judge noted APS did offer Trujillo a permanent job after all, which he rejected.

“That somewhat defeats his case,” Sweeney said. “There’s no evidence of direct age animus. There is no evidence of indirect age animus. There is no evidence the defendant has offered changing or inconsistent reasoning.”

The case is Trujillo v. Aurora Public Schools.