Douglas Bower v Board of Education, Cazenovia Central School District

Petitioner retired from his teaching position in 2004. In 2006, he got married and requested to change his health plan from individual coverage to family coverage so that his wife would be covered. The district refused and said that a retired teacher is not allowed to change his coverage. Petitioner appealed this decision and the Court granted his motion. Respondents then brought about this appeal.

Respondents argued that petitioner was not allowed to change his coverage following retirement. According to the “ENROLLMENT CHANGES” section of the agreement “[y]ou may request a change from individual to [f]amily coverage . . . [t]o provide coverage for a newly acquired spouse.” This section never indicates that the “you” does not include retired employees.

Accordingly, the Supreme Court ordered the judgment affirmed without costs.