Teacher Sues, Says She Was Fired For Being A Lesbian, Helping LGBT Students

HESPERIA (CBSLA.com) — A lesbian teacher is suing the Hesperia Unified School District, saying she lost her job because she stood up for gay and lesbian students.

"Today I'm sitting here, and I'm not in a classroom, and that's just really, really devastating to me," Julia Frost said Tuesday.

Frost, who worked as an English teacher at Sultana High School from August 2011 through May of this year, said she was shown the door because of her leadership in the Gay/Straight Alliance Club and because of her own sexual orientation.

"I heard things from teachers like, 'Which one is the man and which one is the woman in your relationship?'" she said.

Frost is suing for unspecified damages and demanding to be rehired.

In a statement, David McLaughlin, the district's superintendent, said, in part, "While the district may not discuss personnel matters, Ms. Frost's allegations that the district dismissed her because she 'blew the whistle' with the ACLU about students' equal rights, specifically the rights of our LGBT students, is absolutely false. Sadly, her efforts serve only to fuel the argument that public education cannot dismiss teachers who do not meet district expectations without controversy and, potentially costly, legal battles."

KCAL9's Tom Wait said this isn't the first time staff at Sultana High has been accused of homophobia.

In March, some students went to the ACLU for help, alleging the school tried to censor the Gay/Straight Alliance and that officials tried to impose unfair gender-specific dress codes. Frost said the complaints were made independent of her.

Since then, the ACLU has praised the school for making adjustments.

"They are implementing concrete changes to improve the climate for LGBT students in the district. We are very pleased the district took our allegations very seriously," an ACLU spokesperson said.