A former Cal State Los Angeles director sued the CSU trustees Friday, alleging violations of the state Labor Code in her 2024 discharge after she reported that two high-academic achieving minors in her program may have been engaged in sexual activity on campus.
Kidogo Kennedy seeks general and special damages as well as recovery of lost earnings in her Los Angeles Superior Court complaint. A CSU representative did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Kennedy was hired as an assistant adjunct professor in 2005 and worked in that capacity until 2016. She left and returned to CSULA in September 2021 as a lecturer and fellow, then took a post as director of the CSULA Early Entrance Program in March 2023. The EEP allows advanced learning students from ages 11 to 15 to enroll as full-time college students and attend regular college classes on campus.
In May 2024, a Kennedy subordinate told her that a boy and girl were found in the EEP program’s kitchen, according to the suit, which further states that the female student was ”in a state of undress” while the male student was “attempting to hide in the corner.”
Kennedy, a mandatory reporter, told the CSULA’s Title IX officer about the two EEP students, but the officer subsequently informed the plaintiff that no action would be taken because there was no evidence of sex acts having taken place, the suit states.
Instead, plaintiff was told that the investigation concluded that the minor female student was simply changing clothes in the EEP kitchen, according to the suit, which contends that the “Title IX conclusion was undermined by statements by both students saying that they were in a relationship and engaging in “consensual” activities.
Kennedy, who believed an effort was being made to “sweep the incident under the rug,” expressed her concerns to her supervisor, but the boss told the plaintiff not to pursue the matter, the suit alleges.
Two days later, Kennedy was placed on administrative leave without explanation only two days subsequent to that she was told she was being terminated, the suit states.
Kennedy’s request for reconsideration was denied and so she submitted a request for a second-level review, but since a meeting on the issue in October she not been provided a meaningful response, the suit states.
Kennedy has suffered financial losses as well as mental and physical distress since losing her job, the suit states.