Utah high school teacher silenced

Off Our Backs, Feb 1998 by Ross-Fowler, Gigi

On December 23, a self-styled Utah citizen's group, Citizens for Moral and Legal Values, filed a lawsuit in state court against Wendy Weaver, a veteran high school psychology teacher and volleyball coach. Earlier, on October 21, Weaver filed her own lawsuit in federal court alleging that the Nebo School District restricted her freedom to discuss her sexual orientation.

In a memo to the Spanish Fork High School teacher, dated July 22, the school district threatened to fire her if she "made comments, announcements or statements to students, staff members or parents of students regarding [her] homosexual orientation or lifestyle."

The memo continued, "If students, staff members or parents of students ask about your sexual orientation or anything concerning the subject, you shall tell them that the subject is private and personal and inappropriate to discuss with them."

Weaver's suit seeks to end the gag order and expunge the written memo from her file. The defendants named in the suit are District Director of Human Resources Almon Mosher who read the order to her, Spanish Fork High principal Robert Wadley who fired her as coach of the women's volleyball team, Director of Secondary Education Larry Kimball, and Superintendent Denis Poulsen.

The American Civil Liberties Union has joined the suit, charging an unconstitutional violation of Weaver's free speech rights.

After Weaver, who has been teaching at the high school since 1979, filed her suit, the school district issued a second memo that narrowed the restrictions on the teacher. It said that "restrictions on your communications apply only while you are acting within the course and scope of your duties as a teacher for the district. Our main areas of concern are situations such as classroom teaching, extracurricular school-sponsored activities and parent-- teacher conferences where, we believe, discussion of one's sexual orientation would be inappropriate." Weaver's attorney, David Watkiss, interprets the memo as a step towards settling the case.

Citizens for Moral and Legal Values, however, wants more than a gag order for the teacher. In addition to seeking revocation of Weaver's license, the group is looking for clarification of three state laws: the 1993 Constitutional Freedoms in the Schools Act, the 1994 Family Education and Privacy Rights Act, and the 1996 Responsibilities of School Employees and the Limitations Regarding School Clubs Act.

In a speech to the Utah Eagle Forum, a religious right lobbying group instrumental in pushing for the passages of the three state laws, Matt Hilton. the attorney for the group, stated that although Weaver may win her suit in federal court, "a different result will ensue under those [state] laws that were divinely inspired, and that I believe will be divinely enforced."

The Citizens for Moral and Legal Values' complaint reiterates charges the religious right routinely makes against lesbians, including sodomy, child abuse, and "recruiting" girls into the lesbian "lifestyle." They seek damages of one dollar for each violation the court finds.

Utah ACLU Executive Director Carol Gnade called the group's suit "political grandstanding at its worst."

-info from planetout 10/23/97 and 12/29/97, and from the salt lake tribune 12/27/97 and 1/11/98