An art teacher has filed a federal
lawsuit claiming sex discrimination after she was suspended for
showing students a photo of her girlfriend.
Stacy Bailey, a two-time awarded
teacher of the year, was removed from the classroom after a parent
complained about the incident. Bailey has since married her
girlfriend.
According to the lawsuit, parents
complained she was promoting a “homosexual agenda.”
Bailey, 31, has been with the Mansfield
Independent School District (MISD), employed as an art teacher at
Charlotte Anderson elementary school in Arlington, Texas, for ten
years.
The district at first placed Bailey on
paid administrative leave. Officials later asked her to resign.
Bailey's contract was renewed with the stipulation she would be
transferred to a middle or high school.
Bailey's attorney told reporters that
transferring her client to another school sends the wrong message.
“Transferring Stacy out of Charlotte
elementary when she did nothing wrong sends the wrong message that
lesbians and gays can't teach elementary students,” he said.
Bailey's wife, Julie Vasquez, also said
that the district had treated Bailey differently than other teachers.
“Teaching art to these children has
been her life's love and passion. It is shocking and disappointing
that Mansfield district officials treated my wife differently when
she spoke about her family, just as every teacher does,” Julie
Vasquez told reporters last month.
In a statement released in March, the
district claimed that Bailey was having “ongoing discussions with
elementary aged students about her own sexual orientation.” Bailey
denies the claim.