Trans Teacher's Discrimination Suit Settled With Maryland School Board
A teacher who taught in Maryland for years has settled a discrimination lawsuit, claiming she was subjected to “pervasive and severe” verbal and physical assaults because of her transgender identity.As a teacher in Prince George’s County between 2008 and 2017, Jennifer Eller claimed that teachers, administrators, and parents perpetuated a culture of discrimination and harassment toward transgender people, DCist reports.The parties reached a settlement between the Prince George’s County School Board and the federal government, under which the board agreed to adopt policies and procedures aimed at protecting transgender people from harassment.
The settlement also included monetary compensation.Lambda Legal, representing Eller, celebrated the settlement in a press release.“Public schools should be safe havens where we prepare the leaders of tomorrow and where all are welcome regardless of background or identity.
No person should have to endure the relentless harassment, threats, and even violence that are outlined in Jennifer Eller’s complaint,” said Lambda Legal counsel Omar Gonzalez-Pagan in the announcement. “Transphobia and harassment have no place in the workplace or our schools.
We are gratified that we have been able to vindicate Jennifer Eller’s rights and hopeful that with this settlement, we will be able to prevent having any transgender person at Prince George’s County public schools from ever having to face the reprehensible treatment that Jennifer Eller endured.”As soon as Eller graduated from college in South Dakota, she began working as a paraprofessional at a local middle school and as a tutor at a Christian adolescent counseling center in Sioux Falls.
