The Maine Supreme Judicial Court affirmed a superior court judgment upholding the dismissal of XinXiu "Tina" Hogan from the Respiratory Therapy Program at Kennebec Valley Community College, while also dismissing her federal civil rights and state discrimination claims as duplicative.
The unanimous decision, issued Jan. 29, 2026, brought to a close Hogan's legal challenge to her removal from the respiratory therapy program after five years of enrollment from 2017 to 2022. Justice Connors authored the opinion for the court, which included Chief Justice Stanfill and Justices Mead, Douglas, and Lipez, along with Active Retired Justice Horton.
Hogan had filed her complaint under Maine Rule of Civil Procedure 80B challenging her dismissal from the respiratory therapy program, while also asserting two independent claims. The first claim alleged violations of procedural due process under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983, the federal civil rights statute that allows individuals to sue state actors for constitutional violations. The second claim alleged unlawful educational discrimination under Maine state law, specifically 5 M.R.S. Section 4601.
The case originated from performance concerns that arose during Hogan's final year in the program during the 2021-2022 academic year. According to court records, Hogan was enrolled in a clinical course that required supervised work at several local hospitals as part of her training to become a respiratory therapist.
The first documented concern emerged on Nov. 2, 2021, when the Director of Respiratory Care at Redington Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan contacted the RT Program Director of Clinical Education via email to express concerns about Hogan's performance during her clinical rotation at the facility.
The court records indicate that additional performance issues continued to surface among both KVCC faculty members and clinical site supervisors throughout the school year, though the specific nature of these concerns was not detailed in the available portion of the decision.
Respiratory therapy programs are highly regulated educational pathways that prepare students to work as respiratory therapists in hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare settings. These programs typically combine classroom instruction with extensive hands-on clinical training at healthcare facilities, where students work under the supervision of licensed respiratory therapists and other medical professionals.
Students in respiratory therapy programs must meet strict academic and clinical performance standards to progress through the program and ultimately become eligible for national certification examinations. Clinical rotations are considered essential components of the training, as they provide real-world experience in patient care under professional supervision.
Hogan's dismissal from the program occurred after these performance concerns accumulated over the course of her final academic year. She subsequently challenged the dismissal through Maine's administrative appeals process under Rule 80B, which provides a mechanism for judicial review of administrative decisions by state agencies and institutions.
The Superior Court for Somerset County, with Associate Retired Justice Stokes presiding, initially heard Hogan's case and ruled against her on all claims. The court affirmed KVCC's decision to dismiss her from the respiratory therapy program and dismissed her federal civil rights and state discrimination claims as duplicative under Rule 80B(i).
Rule 80B(i) allows courts to dismiss duplicative claims that are substantially similar to the primary administrative appeal when they arise from the same underlying facts and seek similar relief. This procedural rule is designed to streamline litigation and prevent parties from pursuing multiple legal theories for the same alleged wrongdoing.
Hogan appealed the superior court's decision to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, arguing that the lower court erred in affirming her dismissal and in dismissing her independent federal and state claims. However, the state's highest court found no error in the lower court's reasoning or conclusions.
The case was argued before the Maine Supreme Judicial Court on April 10, 2025, nearly nine months before the decision was issued. The extended deliberation period suggests the court carefully considered the various legal issues raised in Hogan's appeal.
The decision represents the final resolution of Hogan's legal challenge to her dismissal from the respiratory therapy program. The court's affirmance of both the underlying dismissal and the procedural dismissal of her additional claims means that KVCC's decision to remove her from the program will stand.
The ruling also clarifies the application of Maine's administrative appeals process in the context of educational institutions and confirms that federal civil rights claims and state discrimination claims cannot be pursued separately when they are duplicative of claims raised in administrative appeals under Rule 80B.
For students facing dismissal from professional programs at public educational institutions in Maine, the decision reinforces the importance of the Rule 80B administrative appeals process while limiting the ability to pursue parallel federal and state claims based on the same underlying facts.