Oregon pays $650,000 to teachers fired over gender policy activism

An Oregon school district has agreed to pay $650,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by two educators who were fired after promoting their own proposals for gender identity policies.

Former North Middle School assistant principal Rachel Sager, formerly known as Rachel Damiano, and former health and science teacher Katie Medart, sued Grants Pass School District 7 in 2021, alleging they were punished for expressing their views on gender identity education.

According to the complaint, the educators created a grassroots campaign called “I Resolve,” producing a video and website outlining proposed approaches to gender identity policies that they described as “reasonable, loving and tolerant” and intended to “respect everyone’s rights.”

Sager also sent emails from her school account to district employees linking to the “I Resolve” site, the complaint states. After receiving complaints, the district launched an independent investigation that found the two had violated multiple policies. According to the complaint, the investigation sustained allegations they had used “district resources in connection with a political campaign,” used time during the workday “for campaign purposes,” failed to “include a viewpoint disclaimer” and used social media and public websites in a manner that “disrupted the school environment.”

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Both educators were fired, then later reinstated and reassigned to positions with reduced duties.

Sager and Medart brought First Amendment, Equal Protection and retaliation claims against the district. After a district court ruled against them, they appealed, and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals partially ruled in the educators’ favor in June. The Ninth Circuit partially vacated the lower court’s ruling and sent the case back for trial before the parties reached their settlement. 

Under the agreement, Grants Pass will pay $650,000 in damages and attorneys’ fees, issue a public statement acknowledging that its handling of the matter “fell short of its standards and responsibilities,” provide positive letters of recommendation, revise a district policy to comply with the First Amendment and remove negative references from their personnel files, according to a Nov. 14 announcement by conservative legal firm Alliance Defending Freedom.

In an opinion piece for Fox News Digital last year, the educators said they did not identify their school or district in their “I Resolve” materials and had informed the superintendent and human resources staff about their advocacy on what they described as a personal platform. They said they launched the campaign to address concerns about parents being left out of discussions on gender identity issues in schools and about teachers “being asked to violate their conscience and lie to parents and students.”

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“Our faith is the most important thing to us – and we must abide by our core religious beliefs whether at home, church or teaching at school,” they wrote. “We knew not everyone shared our core convictions, of course, and our main objective with starting this discussion was to bring a diverse community together to seek possible solutions to a divisive issue.”

“Our proposed solutions respected the rights of students and parents and allowed teachers to continue teaching without violating their conscience,” they continued.

Alliance Defending Freedom and the Pacific Justice Institute represented the educators. 

“Educators are free to express opinions on fundamental issues of public concern—like gender identity education policy—that implicate the freedoms of teachers, parents, and students,” said ADF Legal Counsel Mathew Hoffmann in a press release. “The Grants Pass School District is taking the right step by acknowledging that teachers don’t give up their First Amendment rights when they set foot on school property. Public schools can’t retaliate against speech simply because they disagree with what’s said.”

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In a statement to Fox News Digital, Grants Pass School District 7 said it had reached a “negotiated resolution” with Sager and Medart and acknowledged that its handling of the situation had fallen short. The board previously reversed its termination decision, the district said.

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“The District has provided positive letters of recommendation for both. The Teachers Standards and Practice Commission and Oregon Employment Department recognized that Ms. Medart and Ms. Sager did not commit misconduct. They remain educators in good standing with no TSPC discipline on their records,” a spokesperson added.

“The District affirms employees’ rights to speak as private citizens on matters of public concern. The District has revised Policy GBG to protect employees’ freedom and remain compliant with federal and Oregon law. It has expanded access to gender-neutral, single-occupant restroom facilities. The District also has practices in place to protect employee religious freedom.”

On their “I Resolve” website, Medart and Sager say they are no longer working in the district.

“Rachel was forced out of the district in order to protect her license and future job prospects,” a statement about the settlement says. “Katie was transferred to the online school and eventually to the high school before resigning as part of the settlement.”