A former special education director in California sued his school district’s board of trustees for discrimination and won a settlement. (Getty)
A former special education director in California sued his school district’s board of trustees for discrimination and won a settlement. (Getty)
A lesbian teacher has been awarded $1.2m (£899,845) in damages after she was called a ‘witch’ at an ‘LGBTQ gathering’.
Rose Tagnesi, California’s former special education director, sued her school district’s board of trustees for discrimination and won a settlement.
According to The Advocate, Tagnesi filed a lawsuit against San Diego’s Grossmont Union High School District in August 2024, alleging multiple harassments over her sexual identity and retaliation for her opposition to the conservative school board’s “anti-LGBTQ policies” that sought to ban LGBTQ+ books.
Tanezy also accused board trustee Jim Kelly of calling her and another female employee “witches” who were members of the “LGBTQ community.” She added that Mr Kelly called the staff member “difficult”, told her she was unqualified for the job and told her to keep her sexual orientation “under the radar” or risk not being given a promotion if it was revealed she was a lesbian.
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The district agreed to pay Tagnesi $19,000 (£14,247) upfront and $700,000 (£524,883) over the next 20 years, plus $481,000 (£360,677) in legal fees. The board voted to approve the settlement without admitting wrongdoing.
Tagnesi was demoted last year from his position as the district’s director of special education to a teaching position. The demotion followed an investigation related to a January 2021 incident in which a 16-year-old special education student left school grounds and went missing for five days. During this period, students were subjected to sex trafficking.
The student’s family filed a lawsuit and was awarded $400,000 (£299,940) in compensation by the school district in 2021. The school district then began an investigation into Tagnesi. Tagnesi alleges in her lawsuit that the investigation created a hostile work environment and provided conservative board members with an excuse to fire her.
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Tagnesi said: “Going forward, we look forward to seeing the district take decisive action to create the inclusive culture that our students and teachers deserve.”
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