A teacher who was suspended after showing photos of her and her wife during a presentation reached a settlement with the Mansfield Independent School District on Monday.
Stacy Bailey was an art teacher at Charlotte Anderson Elementary and was suspended in September 2017 after a parent reportedly complained about her discussing her wife with her students.
She reached a $100,000 settlement in the sexual orientation discrimination lawsuit with the school district. The district approved the details of the settlement at their meeting Monday night.
"This settlement is a win-win for Stacy and the educators and students in Mansfield ISD," attorney Jason Smith said, who represented her in the case. "The Judge’s decision in this case sends a message to school districts all across this country: The Constitution protects gay teachers from discrimination.”
“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.
At the time of the incident in 2017, the district released a statement saying in part that Bailey hadn’t followed the administration’s directions regarding age-appropriate conversations with students.
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The settlement included:
a. Mansfield ISD agrees will withdraw the designation of “Administrative Leave” regarding Plaintiff’s 8 month suspension, and agree that Plaintiff may freely represent that she has not be suspended or investigated to Districts to which she may apply for future employment.
b. As part of Mansfield ISD’s social/emotional health training, MISD agrees to provide mandatory training to Human Resource and Counseling staff regarding LGBTQ issues in schools, and offer optional training to be attended by administrators, educators, staff, or parents who may wish to attend such training.
c. Mansfield I.S.D. Board of Trustees will take a vote whether to add a prohibition of “sexual orientation” discrimination to its policies within 60 days of the end of the Supreme Court term.
d. Mansfield I.S.D. will provide Bailey a letter of recommendation for any future employers.
e. Mansfield will make a payment of $100,000 to Bailey and her attorney.
Stacy and her wife will donate $10,000 to a non-profit addressing LGBTQ student issues. Stacy’s attorney Jason Smith will donate $10,000 of his reduced fee to the Human Rights Campaign.
