An Irving high school teacher will have to wait a little longer to find out if she'll be fired for supporting gay and transgender students.
Rachel Stonecipher teaches English and Yearbook at MacArthur High School. She was also the sponsor for the school's Gay Straight Alliance. Last September, she was placed on administrative leave and escorted off campus after opposing the removal of rainbow stickers that identified safe spaces for LGBTQ+ students.
The move sparked mass student protests and walkouts as people from all across North Texas jumped to defend the teacher. And they're still defending her.
On Monday night, the Irving ISD School Board met to discuss Stonecipher's future with the district. A crowd of people gathered in support of her, including teachers, students and parents. Several of them spoke out in her defense.
"It's gotten to a point where the stickers don't even matter anymore, because the reason we want them has gone completely over everyone's head," said sophomore student Lola Dempsey. "Never once in my life has anybody at school bothered to help me until I met my newspaper teacher. You took that away from many students, including me. Your schools will never be a safe space for queer students."
"I've been bragging on the diversity and what a wonderful place Irving is, and now we find ourselves in a witch hunt," one man said.
Stonecipher says she’s been accused of unprofessional communication. She got the chance to address the board last night, as well.
"To scrape [the stickers] down with keys was a betrayal of the tenets of your own trainings," Stonesipher said. "LGBTQ kids felt targeted by the removal of the stickers and other students joined ranks with them."
A final decision about Stonecipher’s employment is expected soon, but for now, her future with the district is still undecided. Stonecipher says she'd be willing to come back and teach, especially since there's a teacher shortage.
KRLD reached out to officials with the Irving ISD but has not gotten a response.
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