Three Iowa teachers who were disciplined for helping to facilitate a student-led drag show have reached a settlement after filing discrimination lawsuits against the Ankeny Community School District. The district had launched investigations into teachers Jill Bjorklund, Mollie Jo Blahunka, and PJ Hurley in May 2022, after they approved or attended a drag show for students held on campus after school hours.

Background

Students with the Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) clubs at Ankeny High School and Southview Middle School hosted youth drag performers from the Central Iowa Youth Pride Pageant for the school clubs’ final meeting of the year. Blahunka and Bjorklund were faculty sponsors for the school clubs, while Hurley was another teacher invited by students to attend.

The event attracted controversy after clips of the drag performance went viral, prompting Ankeny to launch an investigation. Ankeny Community Schools said in a statement that the event was not approved by school administration and did not follow the correct protocols prior to the meeting.

Settlement

The teachers sued, accusing the district of discrimination against their speech in support of LGBTQ students and retaliation, in violation of their First Amendment rights. The complaint also says Blahunka identifies as a queer woman, Hurley as a gay man, and Bjorklund as the mother of a transgender child.

After a years-long legal battle in both state and federal court, the two parties reached a settlement just before the case was scheduled to go to trial on July 20. According to the Des Moines Register report, the district agreed to pay each teacher about $27,700 plus $67,000 for attorneys’ fees, totaling about $150,000.

Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.