Principal defamed teacher as racist in school-wide email — now school board owes him over half a million dollars

A Maryland principal accused a teacher of committing a “hate-bias incident” during his class. However, a jury determined that the teacher had been defamed and awarded him more than half a million dollars.

A teacher at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School was accused of making comments in a classroom that were deemed to be racist. Citing the complaint, Bethesda Today reported that Daniel Engler, who taught at the Bethesda school for 18 years, made the alleged controversial remarks to the students in his classroom on Feb. 8, 2023.

‘[Teachers are] human and are not mistake-free and have good hearts, and they should be treated that way.’

The next day, Vickie Adamson, the school’s vice principal at the time, and another school administrator met with Engler. He was placed on paid leave Feb. 10, 2023.

Two days after the alleged questionable comments, Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School Principal Sheldon Mooney sent an email letter to the school community describing the interaction as a “hate-bias incident.”

“A teacher said to several African American students that he was ‘unable to distinguish them from other African American students’ in the classroom,” Mooney wrote in the letter. “This is unacceptable and harmful behavior not in alignment with our school or districtwide values of respect and inclusivity.”

“Let me be clear, discrimination of any kind must not be tolerated,” Mooney wrote before referring to the school policy against “insensitivity, disrespect, bias, verbal abuse, harassment, bullying, physical violence or illegal discrimination toward any person.”

The Montgomery County Police Department was reportedly notified of the situation.

Bethesda Today reported, “The email was vetted by numerous Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) administrators, according to court testimony.”

While Engler wasn’t named in the letter, the lawsuit alleged that he was “readily identifiable.” Engler’s lawsuit claimed that the high school’s student newspaper, the Tattler, contacted him regarding the accusations.

According to the defamation lawsuit filed by Engler in August 2023, he claimed that school officials didn’t offer him the opportunity to provide his side of the story or give him notice about the school-wide email to staff, parents, and students.

Engler claimed he was attempting to keep students in their assigned seats to help him learn their names in his 10th-grade health class.

Citing Engler’s complaint, Fox News reported that two students later told the school’s assistant principal that he said he wouldn’t be able to tell them apart if they didn’t sit in their assigned seats — a comment they believed was racial because they are black.

In Engler’s complaint, he denied “saying what the students alleged or making any type of racial comment.”

Engler asserted in court that he “did not do anything that could reasonably be classified as a ‘hate-bias incident.’”

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According to Bethesda Today, Engler testified on July 17 that the school-wide email “publicly humiliated him, destroyed his reputation and his relationship with students, and caused him to be fired as coach of the B-CC club rowing team.”

Mooney’s attorney, David Kaminow, argued in court that his client wasn’t at fault, as multiple Montgomery County Public Schools administrators were involved in the decision to send the community letter — which they said was necessary to quell rumors about the incident.

Engler’s attorney, David Wachen, argued that the investigation was half-hearted and relied on statements from 15-year-olds who not only contradicted themselves but whose version of events conflicted with accounts from other students. Wachen also noted that officials at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School had never previously sent a school-wide message about other alleged hate or bias incidents.

Wachen said that school officials had a “shoot first and ask questions later” strategy.

Engler claimed that he was forced to seek treatment from several mental health professionals due to the situation.

Engler reportedly went on disability leave for a year and a half before returning to teach at another school in the district.

“I love teaching. I love coaching,” Engler told Fox News. “And I really care a great deal about the relationships I have with those kids and helping them learn how to become adults in the best way possible. To lose the confidence of the kids, the trust of the kids, based on what the kids’ leadership had to say about me, was devastating. It was identity-stealing.”

Following the seven-day trial, a Montgomery County Circuit Court jury awarded Engler damages last week. A jury of six determined that the Montgomery County School Board defamed Engler. According to Bethesda Today, the court awarded Engler $500,000 in damages, along with $18,000 in prejudgment interest, for a total of $518,000.

Engler described the verdict as “a tremendous relief.”

“[Teachers are] human and are not mistake-free and have good hearts, and they should be treated that way,” Engler told Bethesda Today. “I believe this verdict is an illustration that what I’m saying is true … so that means a great deal to me.”

Montgomery County school board spokesperson Christie Scott said that the board wasn’t able to comment on the verdict.

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