"Civil Rights—Homosexual Teacher Dismissal: A Deviant Decisn—Gaylord " by Jam H. Lowe

gaylord v tacoma school district

The facts culmatg Jam Gaylord's dismissal were undisputed. Gaylord had been a highly regard public high school teacher for nearly twelve years when a stunt sought his unsel on several topics, cludg homosexualy. Durg their nversatn the stunt formed the belief, not predited upon any admissn by Gaylord, that the teacher was homosexual. A year later he reported this belief to the vice-prcipal, who eliced Gaylord's nfirmatn of s accuracy. The school board promptly dismissed Gaylord on the ground of "immoraly,"' bee he had bee a publicly known homosexual. There was no cricism of Gaylord's nduct toward any stunt or of his amic proficiency. No specific sexual nduct was alleged, nor had stunts, lleagu, or admistrators been aware of his sexual orientatn prr to his dismissal. Neverthels, Gaylord v. Taa School District No. 10, a divid Washgton Supreme Court held that public knowledge of his homosexualy impaired his amic efficiency and th nstuted sufficient e for discharge unr state law.

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GAYLORD V. TAA SCHOOL DIST. 10

Gaylord v. Taa School Dist. 10 - 559 P.2d 1340, 88 Wash. 2d 286 * gaylord v tacoma school district *

Platiff-appellant, Jam Gaylord, appeals a judgment of the trial urt upholdg Gaylord's *288 discharge om employment as a high school teacher by fendant school district. Defendant school district discharged Gaylord who held a teacher's certifite om his teachg posn at the Wilson High School Taa on the ground of "immoraly" bee he was a known homosexual.

GAYLORD V. TAA SCHOOL DIST.

Gaylord v. Taa School Dist. - 535 P.2d 804, 85 Wash. 2d 348 * gaylord v tacoma school district *

Gaylord then appealed the Superr Court judgment to this urt which turn remand the e back to the Superr Court for further nsiratn.

On remand rensiratn, the Superr Court nclud substance Gaylord was properly discharged for immoraly bee he was homosexual, and as a known homosexual, his abily and fns to teach was impaired wh rultg jury to the school. We need nsir only the assignments of error which raise two basic issu: (1) whether substantial evince supports the trial urt's ncln platiff-appellant Gaylord was guilty of immoraly; (2) whether substantial evince supports the fdgs, that as a known homosexual, Gaylord's fns as a teacher was impaired to the jury of the Wilson High School, jtifyg his discharge by the fendant school district's board of directors. *289 Gaylord knew of his homosexualy for 20 years prr to his trial, actively sought homosexual pany for the past several years, and participated homosexual acts.

GAYLORD V. TAA SCHOOL DIST. NO. 10, 43482

* gaylord v tacoma school district *

Gaylord's school superr first beme aware of his sexual stat on October 24, 1972, when a former Wilson High stunt told the school's vice-prcipal he thought Gaylord was a homosexual. On November 21, 1972, Gaylord was notified the board of directors of the Taa School Board had found probable e for his discharge due to his stat as a publicly known homosexual. The urt found an admissn of homosexualy nnot illegal as well as immoral acts, bee "sexual gratifitn wh a member of one's own sex is implic the term `homosexual.

If Gaylord had not been discharged after he beme known as a homosexual, the rult would be fear, nfn, spicn, parental ncern, and prsure on the admistratn by stunts, parents, and other teachers.

The urt nclud "appellant was properly discharged by rponnt upon a charge of immoraly upon his *290 admissn and disclosure that he was a homosexual" and that relief sought should be nied.

TAA SCHOOL DISTRICT’S JOURNEY: THE APOLOGY TO MR. GAYLORD

Platiff-appellant, Jam Gaylord, appeals a judgment of the trial urt upholdg Gaylord's * gaylord v tacoma school district *

4119(5) adopted by the school board and effect durg the term of Gaylord's teachg ntract wh fendant school district perms the Taa School Board of Directors to treat "immoraly" as sufficient e for discharge.

Homosexualy simply means the experience of beg erotilly attracted to a member of the same sex, and men or women who habually experience strong feelgs of this kd are lled homosexuals. Those who act upon such feelgs by participatg mutual sexual fondlg or other forms of sexual stimulatn wh a partner of the same sex are known as `overt' or practicg homosexuals.

GAYLORD V. TAA SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 10

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Those whose erotic feelgs for the oppose sex are absent altogether, or slight parison to their homosexual feelgs, are lled exclive or obligatory homosexuals. This is the type doctors ually have md when they refer whout further qualifitn to `homosexuals', or when they speak of `te' homosexuals or "verts", or when they nsir the ndn more or *292 ls permanent and unchangeable.

Ined, is this exclive, obligatory type of homosexual who prents the chief problem for ntemporary society, and who is the ma ncern of this book. The thought of timate ntacts wh their own sex disgts many normal persons, but many of the exclive homosexuals, pecially male homosexuals, are even more appalled by the prospect of relatns wh the oppose sex. [3, 4] There appears to be general agreement, so far as go, wh Webster's fn of homosexual: "`one whose sexual clatn is toward those of the dividual's own sex rather than the oppose sex.

The medil and psychologil and psychiatric lerature on the subject of homosexualy distguish between the overt homosexual and the passive or latent homosexual. A latent homosexual is one who has "an erotic clatn toward members of the same sex, not nscly experienced or exprsed overt actn; oppose of overt. However, has been poted out that "[a]ctually, dividual homosexuals do not necsarily mata an active or passive attu exclively a given relatnship, asmuch as they alternate the male and female rol.

JAM M. GAYLORD, PETNER V. TAA SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 10, ET AL. U. S. SUPREME COURT TRANSCRIPT OF RERD WH SUPPORTG PLEADGS1ST EDN

Moreover, homosexual experience of an overt nature vari among homosexuals, om mal who are more or ls exclively homosexual to mal that are only ocsnally so. 5) and "om appellant's own ttimony is unqutned that homosexual acts were participated by him, although there was no evince of any overt act havg been mted. This le of nstctn ncerng his admissn of homosexualy is supported by evince that Gaylord was and had been a homosexual for 20 years.

He also ttified that the 2-year perd before his discharge, he actively sought out the pany of other male homosexuals and participated actively as a member of the Dorian Society (a society of homosexuals). If Gaylord meant somethg other than homosexual the ual sense, he failed to expla what he meant by his admissn of homosexualy or beg a homosexual so as to avoid any adverse ference, although he had aquate opportuny at trial to do so.

He clearly had a right to expla that he was not an overt homosexual and did not engage the nduct the urt ascribed to him which the urt found immoral and illegal. There was unntroverted evince platiff was a petent and telligent teacher so the urt uld reasonably assume Gaylord knew what homosexualy uld mean. Gaylord's preutn for 20 years to keep his stat of beg *295 a homosexual secret om his parents is eloquent evince of his knowledge of the ser nsequenc attendant upon an unfed admissn of homosexualy.

FORTY-TWO YEARS AFTER HIS FIRG, GAY TEACHER GETS APOLOGY OM TAA SCHOOL DISTRICT

On one ocsn a high school boy nferred wh the platiff about homosexualy and learned that platiff was "heavily volved" for a perd of a month wh a person whose advertisement he had answered. " A psychiatrist ttified "I would say our prent culture and certaly, the last few hundred years Wtern Europe and Ameri this [homosexualy] has been a ighteng ia...

GAYLORD V. TACOMA SCHOOL DIST.

) This fdg would not necsarily apply to latent homosexuals, however, the urt effect found om the evince and reasonable ferenc thereom, *296 applied to Gaylord. Gaylord's wns, a psychiatrist, ttified on cross-examatn that homosexualy except a se of hormonal or ngenal fect (not shown to be prent here) is not born. The next qutn is whether the platiff's performance as a teacher was sufficiently impaired by his known homosexualy to be the basis for discharge.

The urt found that Gaylord, prr to his discharge on December 21, 1972, had been a teacher at the Wilson High School the Taa School District No. ) The urt further found that "while platiff's stat as a homosexual [was] unknown to others the school, " his teachg efficiency was not affected nor did his stat jure the school. When, however, beme publicly known that Gaylord was a homosexual "the knowledge thereof would and did impair his efficiency as a teacher wh rultg jury to the school had he not been discharged.

In all of the areas the ntued employment of appellant after he beme known as a homosexual would rult, had he not been discharged, nfn, spicn, fear, exprsed parental ncern and prsure upon the admistratn om stunts, parents and fellow teachers, all of which would impair appellant's efficiency as a teacher and jure the school.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* GAYLORD V TACOMA SCHOOL DISTRICT

Forty-two years after his firg, gay teacher gets apology om Taa School District .

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