Crime & Safety
LI Teacher Sues School District Over Pride Flag Policy: Report
Multiple Connetquot High School teachers who are part of the LGBTQ+ community were "targeted" by students, according to a lawsuit.
BOHEMIA, NY — A Long Island math teacher filed a lawsuit against his school district Tuesday with the hope of reversing the district's 2022 policy to remove pride flags and stickers, which he says is discriminatory, according to a report in Newsday.
The teacher — 44-year-old Christopher Dolce, who his gay and has been at Connetquot High School since 2001 — is also seeking monetary damages in connection with the ban, Newsday reported, citing the lawsuit and Dolce's attorney Andrew Lieb.
"It's a quasi 'Don't say gay' policy," Lieb said, according to Newsday.
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The filing comes amid nearly a year and a half of controversy at the school district, as officials, teachers, and students clash over whether the pride flag should be permitted to be hung in classrooms, Newsday reported.
In at least one instance, multiple teachers who are part of the LGBTQ+ community were "targeted" by students who replaced the pride stickers in their classrooms with American flag stickers, according to the outlet, which cited the lawsuit.
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A few weeks into the dispute, the school district's assistant superintendent for administration and personnel issued a directive that only the American and New York State flags can be hung in classrooms, saying that there is a district policy that employees 'should not engage in political activities on school premises,' Newsday reported.
One of the students was suspended for three days as a consequence for their alleged misconduct, but that suspension was lifted a day later by the school's superintendent, Lynda G. Adams, according to Newsday.
"I have been heartbroken lately by the state of our district. After over 20 years of giving my all to the students of Connetquot, I left the building in tears today," Dolce wrote in an October 2022 email to Adams that was included in the lawsuit. "Why are you allowing this bigotry and hate to divide our community? Do you not see the hurt that is being inflicted on your staff and our students?"
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