Maryland School Board Ordered to Pay Teacher $500,000 for Racism Allegations

The Board of Education in Montgomery County, Maryland, has been ordered to pay a total of $500,000 to a teacher linked to allegations of racism in school-wide communications. This ruling came from a judge at the Montgomery County Circuit Court last week, following a case involving Dan Engler, a former English teacher at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School. The court decision included an additional $18,000 in interest, bringing the total to $518,000.

This incident dates back to a situation in Engler’s classroom in 2023, where two Black students initially refused to sit in their assigned seats. One student later reported to the assistant principal, expressing that they felt Engler’s comments suggested a racial bias when he claimed he couldn’t speak to them away from other classmates.

Just two days after the incident, Principal Shelton Mooney sent out an email to all staff, parents, and students regarding a “disliked bias incident,” which seemed to implicate Engler without directly naming him.

Engler has claimed that this email led to a swift identification of him among students and parents. He maintained that he did not make any comments warranting such accusations of bias and described the situation as an extreme mischaracterization of his actions.

According to Engler’s lawsuit, the reputation he built over the years was “destroyed” by these schoolwide emails. He also alleged that both Mooney and the Board behaved improperly by not retracting their statements or offering an apology before the investigation was finalized.

The ruling found the Board of Education liable for damages, but not Principal Mooney, who recently resigned from his position and accepted a new role at another school within the Montgomery County Public Schools system.

The school board has chosen not to comment publicly on the ruling, and Mooney’s legal team has not responded to requests for statements.

Before the case went to trial, Engler spoke candidly about the toll this incident took on his mental health, noting that he took a year and a half of disability leave after the situation unfolded. “I love teaching and coaching,” he mentioned. He added that the loss of his students’ trust was particularly damaging and felt akin to identity theft.

Engler described the court’s decision as “a tremendous relief,” emphasizing the need for teachers to be treated humanely, highlighting that they often bring dedication and big hearts to their roles.