Ohio teacher sues high school for demanding he remove LGBT poster inside classroom

A high school teacher in Ohio is suing his school district after the district removed an LGBTQ poster inside a classroom that said, "Hate Has No Home Here."

An anonymous teacher identified only as "John Doe" in legal documents sued the Little Miami School district Tuesday over the board of education's decision to remove the flag in February, claiming it was based on the school board and School Board President David Wallace's "history of animus" toward LGBTQ messages.

"Comments from Board Members made it clear that the decision was not based on the words of the poster itself, but rather an effort to silence the pro-LGBTQ message associated with the rainbow imagery," the lawsuit says.

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The teacher also accused Wallace of targeting LGBTQ messages and materials after he previously campaigned to pull back on Scholastic Book Fairs until some titles could be reviewed for "inappropriate material" after a parent complained about a graphic novel series featuring a gay boy being included.

Wallace was also accused of leading an effort to remove the poster by bringing it to the school board after being denied by district leaders.

According to the complaint, the poster hung in the classroom for approximately four years without issue. The poster in question also contained images of a heart-shaped American flag alongside several pride flags.

The teacher repeatedly argued that the poster's purpose was not to push sexual or gender ideology but to spread a message of inclusion and feared that replacing it could send the opposite message.

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"My concern is that attempting to find a different, 'neutral' image may inadvertently lead to the erasure of LGBTQ+ representation. My preference would be to discuss any additional representation that could potentially be added to the existing flag, rather than removing any of the represented groups," the plaintiff wrote in February.

The teacher is demanding declaratory relief acknowledging that the Little Miami School Board violated the First and 14th Amendments by removing the poster and an injunction preventing it from removing it in the future.

In a comment to Fox News Digital, the Little Miami School District said it was aware of the lawsuit and "remains committed to supporting all students and staff and maintaining a respectful learning environment, while following state and federal law and board-adopted policies."

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Attorney Joshua Engel, who represents the teacher, released a statement condemning the school board after it "turned a simple message of kindness into a fight about free speech."

"A teacher hung a flag in his classroom for four years saying every student deserves to be treated with respect, and nobody had a problem with it until some school board members decided to make it one. Now they're trying to silence a message of kindness while letting other personal displays stay up. The Constitution demands more; school board members cannot silence speech simply because it disagrees with the message," Engel said.

Little Miami High School previously faced criticism after suspending two football players for carrying "thin blue line" and "thin red line" flags across a field Sept. 11, 2020. The players flew the flags in defiance of the school, which previously denied their request to carry the flags on the field.