Teacher suspended for having 4 books in classroom with LGBTQ characters, Ohio suit says
A third grade teacher in Ohio is suing her school district after she said she was disciplined over “the mere presence” of four LGBTQ books in her classroom.
The lawsuit, filed Dec. 2 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, alleges that veteran teacher Karen Cahall was suspended for three days without pay under the “unconstitutional” enforcement of the district’s “controversial issues” policy, violating due process protections provided by the 14th Amendment.
Cahall is listed as a third grade teacher on the Monroe Elementary School website and has been with the New Richmond Exempted Village School District since 1990, court records show.
The school district and six board of education members, including Superintendent Tracey Miller were named as defendants.
McClatchy News reached out to Miller for comment Dec. 6 but did not immediately hear back.
The books at the center of the lawsuit are “Ana On The Edge” by A.J. Sass; “The Fabulous Zed Watson” by Basil Sylvester; “Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea” by Ashley Herring Blake; and “Too Bright to See” by Kyle Lukoff.
According to the lawsuit, none of the books describe sexual conduct or activity but rather “characters who are LGBTQ+ and are coming to terms with feeling different and excluded.”
Parent’s email prompts disciplinary hearing
On Oct. 30, a parent emailed the school principal and the district school board regarding the presence of books dealing with LGBTQ topics in Cahall’s classroom, prompting a Nov. 4 disciplinary meeting, according to the lawsuit.
During the disciplinary hearing, Cahall explained that “she did not teach or instruct from said books, did not use the books as a part of her classroom curriculum or instructional program, did not initiate discussion of the books with students, or otherwise use the books to indoctrinate students or endorse an LGBTQ+ lifestyle in her classroom,” the lawsuit said.
Cahall explained the four books, which she did not have “prominently displayed” represented a small fraction of her classroom library of nearly 100 books, according to court documents.
The third-grade teacher was issued a three-day suspension without pay on Nov. 6 for violating the district’s “controversial issues” policy, according to the lawsuit.
Defining a “controversial issue”
In the policy, the district defines a controversial issue, in part, as a topic “likely to arouse both support and opposition in the community.”
These topics may be introduced in instructional programming if they are related to the instructional goals of a course, do not intend to indoctrinate or persuade, and encourage open-mindedness, according to the policy.
The lawsuit calls this definition “so vague and all-encompassing that it could extend to virtually any topic upon which any two random individuals or groups of individuals might find something to disagree about,” adding that it “encourages arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement.”
Additionally, the lawsuit says the policy appears to apply only to controversial issues in instructional programs, and not what a teacher “is permitted to have in his or her classroom when they are not used as part of the “instructional program.”
Superintendent Miller said Cahall knew the books were controversial because her request to have them placed in the school library was denied, instead, placing them in her classroom library without going through the proper approval process, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported, citing the disciplinary letter sent to Cahall.
Cahall is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, according to the lawsuit.
New Richmond is about a 20-mile drive southeast of Cincinnati.
This story was originally published December 6, 2024 at 6:33 PM with the headline "Teacher suspended for having 4 books in classroom with LGBTQ characters, Ohio suit says."
