United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit ____________________ No. 22-1290 NICOLE BRONSON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. ANN & ROBERT H. LURIE CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL OF CHICAGO and SUSAN RUOHONEN, Defendants-Appellees. ____________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. No. 20-c-2077 — John Z. Lee, Judge. ____________________

ARGUED SEPTEMBER 29, 2022 — DECIDED MAY 30, 2023 ____________________

Before SYKES, Chief Judge, and ROVNER and JACKSON- AKIWUMI, Circuit Judges. ROVNER, Circuit Judge. Nicole Bronson has sued Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago (“Lurie” or “the hospital”) and Susan Ruohonen, Lurie’s Director of Fam- ily Services, for race discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, and section 2 No. 22-1290 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, 42 U.S.C. § 1981. She also brought two state law claims for tortious interference with contract and defamation. The district court dismissed the Title VII and section 1981 claims along with the tortious interfer- ence claim and remanded the remaining defamation claim to state court. Bronson v. Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hosp. of Chicago, 2021 WL 1056847 (N.D. Ill. Mar. 18, 2021). Bronson appeals, and we affirm. I. We accept the following allegations of Bronson’s com- plaint as true for purposes of reviewing the district court’s de- cision to dismiss the complaint. In August 2018, Chicago Public Schools (“CPS”) Manager Tora Evans hired Bronson as a citywide hospital and treat- ment center teacher. R. 1 ¶¶ 9, 27. 1 Bronson was assigned to Lurie for a period of three years. ¶ 9. Lurie is a pediatric hos- pital—the largest provider of pediatric health services in the Chicago metropolitan region. ¶ 2. Bronson was one of three CPS teachers assigned to work at the hospital. ¶ 14. Bronson and one other teacher, Catherine Cooper, are Black; the third teacher, Barbara Lee, is White. ¶¶ 1, 14. Ruohonen, as Lurie’s family services director, served as the teachers’ “representa- tive supervisor” at the hospital. ¶¶ 11, 29. Ruohonen is White. ¶ 11. Only one percent of the hospital employees who worked under Ruohonen’s supervision were Black. ¶ 11. As a hospital teacher, it was Bronson’s job to provide edu- cational services to students who were unable to participate

1 Unless otherwise indicated, all record citations are to the allegations set forth in Bronson’s complaint. No. 22-1290 3 in classroom instruction because of a diagnosed medical or psychiatric condition requiring in-patient treatment at Lurie. ¶¶ 12, 13, 17. Among other responsibilities, Bronson was re- quired to assess a student’s eligibility for instruction, deter- mine what educational resources were available for that stu- dent, prepare a case management plan, obtain parental con- sent for the student to receive educational services from hos- pital-assigned teachers, and also have a physician or ad- vanced practice nurse complete certain paperwork. ¶¶ 12, 13, 17. In collaboration with the student’s classroom teacher(s), Bronson created a lesson plan that was consistent with a stu- dent’s educational needs as well as his or her medical condi- tion. ¶¶ 12, 13. She would then provide instruction to the hos- pitalized student, either individually at bedside or in small- group settings. Bronson also maintained records for all stu- dents and prepared regular, detailed reports on their pro- gress. ¶¶ 12, 13, 17. Because Bronson was working directly with pat