home > newsroom ACLU of Utah Defends High School Teacher FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, March 14, 2002 SALT LAKE CITY – Today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah submitted to the Utah Supreme Court its appellate brief in defense of Wendy Weaver, a Spanish Fork High School teacher. The appeal is the latest development in the 1997 lawsuit Citizens of Nebo School District v. Weaver that was brought by a group of Utah County citizens who seek to have Ms. Weaver banned from teaching. Ms. Weaver, who is a long-time teacher at Spanish Fork High School and a lesbian, gained national attention when she successfully sued the Nebo County School District for requiring her to sign a gag order prohibiting her from discussing her sexual orientation in or outside of the classroom. The citizens argue that because Ms. Weaver had the courage to stand up to such blatant discrimination, she should not be allowed to teach. We defended her from the lawsuit’s groundless claims, and in March 1999, Fourth District Judge Ray Harding granted our motion to dismiss almost all of the citizens’ claims. Last May, the citizens asked the Utah Supreme Court to reverse the district court decision. At stake in this case is whether citizens can sue an individual teacher when the agencies charged with the responsibility of regulating the teaching profession have not taken action against the teacher. “The citizens are now essentially asking the Utah Supreme Court to do what the experts at both the Division of Professional Licensing and the state school board refused to do – forbid Weaver from teaching school” said Stephen Clark, ACLU of Utah legal director. Cooperating attorney Richard Van Wagoner, from the law firm Snow, Christensen & Martineau, agreed, and added: “In our view, the case amounts to nothing more than continuing harassment against a teacher who asserted her First Amendment and equal protection rights, and our hope is that like the district court, the Utah Supreme Court will correctly view this complaint as being without merit.” Oral arguments will be scheduled later this year. --end--

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