Maryland teacher claims in lawsuit he was falsely branded 'racist’ over seating chart dispute

A Maryland high school professor is taking legal action claiming he was accused of being a racist after a classroom dispute over seating assignments was mishandled by the school administration Dan Engler a former physical condition and English instructor and head coach of the rowing unit at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School B-CC in Montgomery County filed a lawsuit against Principal Shelton L Mooney and the Montgomery County Citizens School Board accusing them of defamation and violating school protocol in their handling of a February classroom matter According to the complaint two students in Engler's first-period vitality class demanded to sit next to their friends instead of in their assigned seats Engler citing the importance of using a seating chart to learn aspirant names and avoid confusion appealed the students who are Black to return to their assigned seats The students refused and remained where they were Later that day the students communicated the interaction to the assistant principal alleging Engler stated them he would not be able to tell them apart from other students believing this to be a racial comment COURT APPROVES SETTLEMENT AFTER NORTH CAROLINA NOVICE SUSPENDED FOR 'ILLEGAL ALIENS' COMMENT Part of the misunderstanding may have stemmed from an development in Engler's English class the previous spring his attorney wrote in the opposition to the defendants' motion for summary judgment The filing explained that Engler had read a quote from Muhammad Ali containing a racial slur which offended a few students Engler apologized and an probe determined it was not a hate bias case The students involved in the physical condition class had reportedly heard about the English class matter and had previously required not to be placed in Engler s class believing him to be racist Following the students review Principal Mooney was instructed by his superiors to follow the hate bias circumstance protocol The next day he informed Engler that he would be placed on paid administrative leave for one day while the matter was under assessment Two days after the happening Mooney sent a community-wide email to parents teachers staff and students reporting that a hate bias event had occurred at the school The message declared that several African American students were explained by a tutor that he was unable to distinguish them from other African American students in the classroom and that the Montgomery County Police Department had been notified as an internal analysis was ongoing CHRISTIAN FAMILY SAYS SCHOOL DISTRICT WON'T ALLOW DAUGHTER TO GRADUATE OVER MANDATORY LGBTQ FITNESS CLASS Let me be clear discrimination of any kind must not be tolerated Mooney wrote before citing the school strategy against insensitivity disrespect bias verbal abuse harassment bullying physical violence or illegal discrimination toward any person Although Engler was not named in the email he noted he was fleetly identified by students parents and colleagues He maintains that he did not make the announcement attributed to him in the letter and he did not do anything that could reasonably be classified as a hate bias event The complaint alleges that Engler had his reputation destroyed by the malicious acts of B-CC's Principal Defendant Shelton L Mooney who falsely accused Engler of racism in a thoughtless half-baked community-wide email The lawsuit further asserts that Mooney and the school board violated MCPS policies and procedures by sending the community-wide email before an inquiry was completed and that they refused to issue a retraction or apology VIRGINIA SCHOOL DISTRICT ACCUSED OF RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION IN TRANSGENDER LOCKER ROOM CASEWhen Engler returned to work the following week Mooney allegedly refused to discuss the matter with Engler Upon returning to his classroom Engler stated he was upset to find MCPS and B-CC staff holding a restorative justice circle in his classroom that they excluded him from joining Engler explained Fox News Digital that the experience took a heavy toll on his mental strength The same day he went on disability leave for a year and a half before resuming teaching at another school in the district I love teaching I love coaching he commented 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 practicable 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 According to the complaint Engler ultimately faced no disciplinary action and the defendants' study allegedly failed to find sufficient evidence that the classroom occurrence constituted a hate bias circumstance However the damage to Engler had already been done Mooney s malicious email falsely branded Engler a racist destroying his reputation in the B-CC public causing him deep emotional distress making it impossible to continue teaching at B-CC and causing the loss of his position as Head Coach of the B-CC Rowing Squad it continued Engler criticized the school s handling of the affair as a tremendous opportunity for virtue signaling It really was and I'm paying the price he narrated Fox News Digital Engler stated his reputation has been damaged and the legal fight has cost his family over After attempting to resolve the dispute through administrative proceedings Engler filed a lawsuit in Montgomery County Circuit Court in August Engler's incident proceeded to trial on Monday Fox News Digital reached out multiple times to the lawyers for the defendants on the charges and did not receive a response The MCPS Board of Guidance noted it was unable to comment on pending litigation Mooney did not return a request for comment