By Bradford Richardson
- The Washington Times - Wednesday, May 25, 2016
A transgender schoolteacher in Oregon won a $60,000 settlement from a school district after co-workers allegedly failed to address the teacher by the proper gender pronouns.
The Gresham-Barlow School District agreed to pay emotional damages to
Leo Soell, who teaches the fifth grade at Hall Elementary School and identifies as neither male nor female.
Soell, who identifies as “they,” said co-workers continuously used the wrong gender pronouns when referring to
Soell, instead using terms such as “she,” “lady” or “Miss Soell.”
Soell
also said the school prohibited Soell
from telling students about Soell’s gender identity. If asked by students whether
Soell
were male or female, Soell
was told to respond, “We all have private lives, and it would not be appropriate to talk about our private lives during the school day.”
Soell
filed a complaint against co-workers, but a district investigation found no evidence of harassment, which prompted Soell
to sue the district.
“I actually feel safe now,”
Soelltold
Oregon Live after the settlement. “There will always be people who push the boundaries, but I’m not worried about them anymore because I know that my district supports me.”
Soell
began working at Hall Elementary School in 2013, but did not come out to co-workers or the administration about Soell’s gender identity until this year, because Oregon teachers work for their first three years on yearlong probationary contracts.
As part of the settlement, district leaders agreed to build gender-neutral restrooms at all district schools within three years.
“Everyone feels better when they know what the boundary is,”
Soell
said. “And there was just no line before.”
Copyright © 2016 The Washington Times, LLC.
Click here for reprint permission.
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censorshipisstupid > Monte • 2 months ago see moreNo wonder the national debt is at $20T. This settlement is tax free, btw. Yup, not a penny paid in taxes. -
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coolercoleman • 2 months ago see moreThe school should have vetted this prev before hiring it. Public schools are a cesspool where the worse the universities have to offer is dumped. Then our kids are thrown in and are expected to keep their heads above the liberal fecal matter. -
Pete • 2 months ago see more1. It shouldn't be even allowed to be in the school much less teach.
2. The school board is packed with morons.
3. America is in serious trouble.-
sam savage > Pete • 2 months ago see moreThere is probably a law that forces the school board to keep this freak employed, but the liberals on the board probably supported the law.
Yes we are in very serious trouble.
Liberalism kills. -
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sam savage > Frank Peel • 2 months ago see moreI didn't name they. They named itself according to the article. -
putting swimfins on a cat > Frank Peel • 2 months ago see moreThe freak in this article demands to be called THEY. Did you even bother reading the article or are you just ignorant. A jerk, who demands to be called a freaking pronoun is teaching kids! That should be getting you riled, not people doing what the FREAK demands.-
Frank Peel > putting swimfins on a cat • 2 months ago see moreOf course I read the article and my comment was irony.Using "They's" perversion of the language twists English into an abnormality. It's a double twist. Even a triple depending on one's perspective. Guess that one went over your heads.
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allbuss84 > Guest • 2 months ago see moreThey are not sure if They is a good teacher, but they said they will find out what qualifications They has and whether or not They's results are above or below average compared to what they believe to be the standard for all 5th Grade teachers in the District that They is benchmarked against..-
steve_in_nj > allbuss84 • 2 months ago see moreI predict They's haid gonna be explode, no worries...
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steve_in_nj > Guest • 2 months ago see morePerhaps They should teach physics, where precision is less at a premium...Oh, wait.
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allbuss84 > thebeliever • 2 months ago see moreAnyone who cannot distinguish between a singular or plural gender pronoun should not be teaching children English.-
thebeliever > allbuss84 • 2 months ago see morePerhaps the "plural gender" is his/her way of acknowledging their humanity. I'm sure "they" are perfectly capable of "distinguishing between a singular or plural pronoun. Might you have said 'and' rather than "or" in your response?
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thebeliever > Pete • 2 months ago see moreThat's an old story, but should you continue following my posts, they might eventually make at least a modicum of sense to you. -
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going1234 • 2 months ago see morePoor little fruit loop make special accommodations, because the fruit loop is special.Now the other teachers must conform to the perverts delusion. I guess call him/she cousin it that should be neutral.-
Raphael Semmes > going1234 • 2 months ago see moreIf it had thought it was Napolean, would the other teachers have been required to address her as ''Your Majesty''?Like the mentally ill who think they are Napolean, the mentally ill who think they are of a different sex than they actually are need to be housed in mental institutions, not teaching school children. -
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Carol • 2 months ago see moreMs. Soell was not honest about who she was until she passed the probationary three year contract, according to this article. Wouldn't that make the contract null and void ?-
putting swimfins on a cat > Carol • 2 months ago see moreMr. Soell is still a man, regardless of his mental delusions to the contrary. IT IS A HE and can never be a she, no matter how much plastic, hair extensions or makeup is slathered on, HE IS A HE until HE dies.-
The Smackdown > putting swimfins on a cat • 2 months ago see moreShe was a woman. I think you mean she will always be a woman.-
sam savage > The Smackdown • 2 months ago see moreIt's too hard to keep up sometimes. This freak show has to stop. -
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putting swimfins on a cat > The Smackdown • 2 months ago see moreThat wasn't clear in the article. The picture shows a man in a dress, or could be another prog "female" politician, since they are all so fugly. It doesn't matter, IT LIED and gets free money for LYING. This is what idiot progs are pushing on our children! The look on that little boy's face is pure confusion and almost terror. It's now illegal to use pronouns, but that is the goal of the left, to mute us with thought and speech control. If we don't know the hourly changes in language, we can be punished beyond reality.
Either way you look at it, this is not a person who has any business around any children, EVER.-
The Smackdown > putting swimfins on a cat • 2 months ago see moreI agree with your sentiment. Just saying it was a woman who had a double mastectomy and now is confused but certainly not too confused to shake down the tax payers.
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sam savage > Carol • 2 months ago see moreI agree with you, but I'd bet that the members of the school board are too liberal to care about that.-
steve_in_nj > sam savage • 2 months ago see moreTrue, the $60k, it isn't like it was *their* money! but what is the little kid thinking..."Be careful with that flagpole, big fella!"
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Carrington Spensor > Carol • 2 months ago see moreNo. It would get it an 'A' in Hillary Clinton's Ethics class.
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allbuss84 • 2 months ago see moreThis They teaches English to students and cannot even select a singular pronoun for They's own gender identity. I wonder what they (no relation to They) have to say about this at the English department?I'm sure this They says they don't care, but they may actually have a problem with this They teaching students improper English at a time when they have seen literacy rates fall to such a low level among certain demographics, that they are calling it an education crisis.Why is They so selfish?-
steve_in_nj > allbuss84 • 2 months ago see moreCripes, and just when we thought we had Ebonics on the run, and more women's rooms were being installed in stadiums...
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Bob Gardner • 2 months ago see moreThe picture says it ALL the little child is wondering why is that MAN wearing earrings, lipstick and a dress! ROFLMAO! To all of you that believe HE is still a HE you no longer have a first amendment right to freedom of speech!-
Carrington Spensor > Bob Gardner • 2 months ago see more"To all of you that believe HE is still a HE you no longer have a first amendment right to freedom of speech!"Another BINGO!If one doesn't see things the way others do, they lose their 1st Amendment rights.Perfect! American's mentality today.-
Bob Gardner > Carrington Spensor • 2 months ago see moreLiberals are only in favor of free speech if you parrot them, that is why conservatives are not allowed to speak at college or university commencements!
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Bob Gardner > Guest • 2 months ago see moreDoesn't matter who the person in the picture is the child KNOWS it's a man!
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Marcus Adams > Bob Gardner • 2 months ago see moreGet real. The kids don't care. Its the parents who flip out.-
Bob Gardner > Marcus Adams • 2 months ago see more"Get Real"? I asked my 15 year old granddaughter if she would be ok with being forced to shower with a boy at school, she said NO WAY!
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