The American Civil Liberties Union is considering legal action against USD 251 North Lyon County for its response to a situation involving a lesbian student early this year.
The ACLU says USD 251 likely violated Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. It says the district also violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and violated Izzy Dieker’s exercising her First Amendment rights to free speech. It also says an independent investigator’s findings that former North Lyon County Junior High principal Corey Wiltz and bus driver Kristi Gadino violated Title IX were upheld on appeal.
In a letter to Superintendent Bob Blair this week, the ACLU urged the district to take action and ensure that policies, practices and training will protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and other gender-nonconforming students from discrimination and harassment “to avoid prolonged litigation.”
Blair has not returned a request from KVOE News for comment.
On Jan. 27, Izzy Dieker was part of a loud and occasionally vulgar conversation on a bus ride home. Gadino reported Izzy Dieker saying she was a lesbian and chiding the student for language. She also stopped the bus and eventually brought Izzy Dieker to the front, after which Wiltz told the family the student was suspended from school bus rides for foul language and disobeying the driver. The report from the independent investigator demonstrates several instances of foul language and at least one where a student stood up while the bus was in motion, but those incidents were not addressed during the ride home.
The report also discusses the investigation process, which included witness interviews on three different occasions and a review of evidence and district policies for sexual harassment and bus discipline. That led to the report’s conclusions of sexual harassment, based on “differential treatment” due to the nature of the ride and Izzy Dieker’s specific comments as well as Wiltz’s delayed response to the family and his stated belief “lesbian” is a vulgar and inappropriate word.
