School District Will Pay $75,000 To Settle Discrimination Claim By Gay Student Teacher
By Dominique Fong
By Dominique Fong February 11, 2011
BEAVERTON, OREGON -- The Beaverton School District will pay $75,000 to settle a discrimination complaint by a student teacher who was reassigned last fall for talking to a fourth-grader about gay marriage.
Seth Stambaugh and the district reached a settlement after mediation, according to a joint statement released Friday.
"We're very happy with the way things are moving forward," said Lake Perriguey, Stambaugh's attorney. Perriguey said his client would not be available to comment.
Stambaugh will finish his nine-month internship at Sexton Mountain Elementary School in June and plans to graduate this summer from Lewis & Clark College, Perriguey said. Stambaugh said he would donate a minimum of $10,000 from the settlement to Outside In and P:ear, two Portland nonprofits that serve homeless and disadvantaged youth, his attorney said.
As part of the agreement with Stambaugh, the school district will "provide leadership training concerning issues related to sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression," according to the statement.
The district has hired two consultants to lead six workshops for the superintendent, administrators and staff from the teaching and learning department, said Maureen Wheeler, the district's spokeswoman.
The district expects to expand education about these issues to principals and faculty this fall, she added.
"We're going to move forward from this," Wheeler said. "We've learned a lot in becoming a more inclusive organization."
Stambaugh, a 23-year-old graduate student studying elementary education at Lewis & Clark, filed a complaint with the district, claiming he was discriminated against because of his sexual orientation.
In October, a 9-year-old Sexton Mountain student asked why Stambaugh wasn't married. Stambaugh, who is gay, replied that it was not legal for him to marry another man. A parent overheard the conversation and complained to the district.
After district officials talked to Stambaugh's advisers at Lewis & Clark, the college transferred the student teacher to a Portland school.
The decision was based on concerns about Stambaugh's "professional judgment" and the appropriateness of the conversation, district officials said. The district does not have policies dealing with student teachers, who also are known as interns.
How and when teachers can reveal personal information is part of the teacher-training program, said officials at Lewis & Clark, which each year sends about 150 student teachers to Portland-area schools.
The case stirred widespread discussion about discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Twenty-seven Sexton Mountain teachers signed a letter against prejudice and called on the district to uphold higher standards.
Others shared their concerns with Beaverton Superintendent Jerry Colonna, who heard testimony from gay and lesbian staff, a gay rights organization, a diversity committee and elementary school parents.
By the end of October, the district reversed the decision. Within two weeks, Stambaugh was reinstated to his original classroom, and the district adopted a resolution to affirm its policies of diversity and nondiscrimination.
Jeana Frazzini, executive director of Basic Rights Oregon, an organization that advocates equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, said Friday she recognized the district's effort to change its actions.
"This is an unfortunate situation that has very effectively been turned into an opportunity where all students and staff can work, learn and grow in a welcoming, safe and equitable community," she said.
Frazzini applauded the district's strengthened rules against discrimination. "There's every indication that they're headed in the right direction," she said.
BEAVERTON, OREGON -- The Beaverton School District will pay $75,000 to settle a discrimination complaint by a student teacher who was reassigned last fall for talking to a fourth-grader about gay marriage.
Seth Stambaugh and the district reached a settlement after mediation, according to a joint statement released Friday.
"We're very happy with the way things are moving forward," said Lake Perriguey, Stambaugh's attorney. Perriguey said his client would not be available to comment.
Stambaugh will finish his nine-month internship at Sexton Mountain Elementary School in June and plans to graduate this summer from Lewis & Clark College, Perriguey said. Stambaugh said he would donate a minimum of $10,000 from the settlement to Outside In and P:ear, two Portland nonprofits that serve homeless and disadvantaged youth, his attorney said.
As part of the agreement with Stambaugh, the school district will "provide leadership training concerning issues related to sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression," according to the statement.
The district has hired two consultants to lead six workshops for the superintendent, administrators and staff from the teaching and learning department, said Maureen Wheeler, the district's spokeswoman.
The district expects to expand education about these issues to principals and faculty this fall, she added.
"We're going to move forward from this," Wheeler said. "We've learned a lot in becoming a more inclusive organization."
Stambaugh, a 23-year-old graduate student studying elementary education at Lewis & Clark, filed a complaint with the district, claiming he was discriminated against because of his sexual orientation.
In October, a 9-year-old Sexton Mountain student asked why Stambaugh wasn't married. Stambaugh, who is gay, replied that it was not legal for him to marry another man. A parent overheard the conversation and complained to the district.
After district officials talked to Stambaugh's advisers at Lewis & Clark, the college transferred the student teacher to a Portland school.
The decision was based on concerns about Stambaugh's "professional judgment" and the appropriateness of the conversation, district officials said. The district does not have policies dealing with student teachers, who also are known as interns.
How and when teachers can reveal personal information is part of the teacher-training program, said officials at Lewis & Clark, which each year sends about 150 student teachers to Portland-area schools.
The case stirred widespread discussion about discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Twenty-seven Sexton Mountain teachers signed a letter against prejudice and called on the district to uphold higher standards.
Others shared their concerns with Beaverton Superintendent Jerry Colonna, who heard testimony from gay and lesbian staff, a gay rights organization, a diversity committee and elementary school parents.
By the end of October, the district reversed the decision. Within two weeks, Stambaugh was reinstated to his original classroom, and the district adopted a resolution to affirm its policies of diversity and nondiscrimination.
Jeana Frazzini, executive director of Basic Rights Oregon, an organization that advocates equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, said Friday she recognized the district's effort to change its actions.
"This is an unfortunate situation that has very effectively been turned into an opportunity where all students and staff can work, learn and grow in a welcoming, safe and equitable community," she said.
Frazzini applauded the district's strengthened rules against discrimination. "There's every indication that they're headed in the right direction," she said.
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"Fear Eats the Soul"
"Fear Eats the Soul"
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