The Springs School District and its superintendent are the targets of a wrongful-termination lawsuit filed by a former administrator who claims she was fired for refusing to carry out tasks she found unethical and harmful to students.
Lauren Seaton, who oversaw the school district’s special education program between August 2023 and January 2025, claimed, through her attorney, Alexander Gilbert, that her “only wrongdoing” was “standing up for students, staff, and the integrity of special education programs.”
The case was filed in New York State Supreme Court on April 22 but was moved a month later to the United States District Court in Central Islip, where it remains despite Mr. Gilbert’s motion to bring the case back to State Supreme Court.
In response, Nancy Carney, the superintendent, and the district’s attorney, Annemarie Jones of Sokoloff Stern, have asserted in case filings that Ms. Seaton’s allegations are untrue. Reached by email, both declined to comment on the pending case.
Part of Ms. Seaton’s complaint is tied to Ms. Carney’s alleged instructions to place two students in the special education program despite their needing language assistance rather than disability services. The two children were also evaluated by a licensed and independent bilingual speech pathologist, whose findings reportedly matched Ms. Seaton’s.
“Misidentifying language acquisition challenges as disabilities can lead to inappropriate special education intervention,” Ms. Seaton’s complaint reads. Improper placement in special education programs “can impede a student’s language development” and “can be a violation of federal and state laws.”
Ms. Seaton also alleges that Ms. Carney attempted to assign a particular special education teacher to an administrative internship, despite that teacher reportedly lacking the appropriate coursework through the Stony Brook University School Educational Leadership Program. Another allegation concerns Ms. Carney’s request to assign a student-teacher to a type of program called “consultant-teacher” within the special education program, despite that individual not being certified for special education.
Ms. Seaton’s complaints state that her refusal to do so was because the proposed plan “would violate multiple laws and there were significant potential repercussions for the district.” Following her refusal to follow the superintendent’s directives, the complaint reads, Ms. Seaton says she was subjected to “escalating hostility, marginalization, and ultimately, termination from her employment.” She says she was then placed on leave before being fired.
“This case is about more than one individual — it’s about protecting children, upholding the law, and ensuring that public servants are not punished for doing the right thing,” Mr. Gilbert, the attorney representing Ms. Seaton, said in a statement. “We intend to vigorously pursue all available legal remedies and to hold the responsible parties accountable.”
As of press time this week, the most recent available case document — filed last Thursday — shows that Ms. Jones objected to Mr. Gilbert’s motion to bring the case back to the New York State court system.
Ms. Seaton’s case is not the first time a former employee has filed a wrongful-termination lawsuit against the Springs School District. Late in 2015, a previous district clerk filed such a claim against the district, which was led at the time by a different superintendent.