ABOVE: Stacey Bailey in school photo. (Photo from Twitter)
MANSFIELD, Texas (AP) | A Texas teacher who alleged she was discriminated against because of her sexual orientation has reached a settlement with the school district.
Stacy Bailey, who is an art teacher at Mansfield Independent School District, will get a letter of recommendation and a $100,000 payment to her and her attorney as part of the settlement. The school board approved the settlement Feb. 24.
“All parties deny any wrongdoing or liability, but wish to resolve their disputes to avoid the time, expense, stress and other impacts of continuing litigation, which would interfere with the mission of educating the students of MISD,” said Donald Williams, associate superintendent of communications and marketing for the district, in a statement.
Bailey filed a federal lawsuit against the district in 2018, The Dallas Morning News previously reported.
“The agreements the district and I made in this settlement are a positive first step in making things better for gay employees, gay students and gay families in Mansfield,” Bailey said in a statement.
Bailey was placed on paid administrative leave for about eight months during the 2017-18 school year after a parent complained that she was “promoting the ‘homosexual agenda”’ to students at Charlotte Anderson Elementary School in Arlington. She had shown her students pictures of her then-fiancee Julie Vasquez.
District officials had argued that it was not discrimination but about whether or not Bailey broke district policy that required controversial subjects be taught in “an impartial and objective manner.”
Eventually the district renewed Bailey’s teaching contract in 2018 and moved her to Lake Ridge High School.
The settlement also required documentation of Bailey being placed on administrative leave be removed from her record. The district’s human resource and counseling staff must undergo training about LGBTQ issues in school as well as optional training for administrators, educators, staff and parents in the district. The board of trustees will vote on whether to add a prohibition of “sexual orientation” discrimination to school policies within two months of the end of the current Supreme Court term this summer.
“This settlement is a win-win for Stacy and the educators and students in Mansfield ISD,” Jason Smith, Bailey’s attorney said. “The Judge’s decision in this case sends a message to school districts all across this country: The Constitution protects gay teachers from discrimination.”
