Teacher says he was asked to not discuss his sexuality — so he left Missouri school
A Missouri teacher who says he was instructed to take down an LGBTQ+ pride flag in his classroom and barred from speaking about his sexuality has resigned.
John M. Wallis, formerly a speech and theater teacher at Neosho Junior High School, said he resigned last week following a series of complaints from parents and demands from the school district.
Wallis outlined in a series of Twitter posts Sunday what he says led to his resignation just three weeks after starting at the school. He said he hung an LGBTQ+ pride flag and sign that read “in this classroom EVERYONE is welcome.”
Wallis said it was an attempt to make his classroom welcoming to all students, but it led to a parent complaining that he “was going to teach their child to be gay.”
“I was then instructed to take my flag and signs down. In fact, the use of the pride flag in my classroom was compared to hanging the confederate flag in my classroom,” Wallis said on Twitter.
More parents accused Wallis of pushing an agenda in the classroom when he told his students the reasons why he had to take down the flag and sign, he said.
Wallis said he resigned when asked to sign a later stating he would not discuss human sexuality or his own sexuality in the classroom.
“Let me be clear, I had every intention of staying with this district for years to come, but this was too much to handle,” Wallis said. “Indeed, it appears that there is a different set of rules if you are an LGBTQ+ educator. Neosho has no mention of gender identity or sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policy, and that is disconcerting enough. Couple that with a policy banning anything that expresses part of me in the classroom, and it makes for a hostile work environment.”
Neosho School District superintendent Dr. Jim R. Cummins said in a statement to KOAM News there was a “limited amount of information” allowed to be shared, but confirmed Wallis submitted his resignation Sept. 1.
The letter from Cummins that Wallis was asked to sign said that classrooms could not “become a personal platform for pushing one’s personal agenda,” according to the Springfield News-Leader.
“If you are unable to present the curriculum in a manner that keeps your personal agenda on sexuality out of your narrative and the classroom discussions, we will ultimately terminate your employment,” Cummins wrote in the letter, the newspaper reported.
Wallis said he was devastated his administrators chose “to believe the bigotry of parents” over him.
He received an outpouring of support following his tweets, including from Missouri State Rep. Crystal Quade. The Democrat from Springfield thanked Wallis for “his dedication to our kids.”
“I am ashamed this happened and continues to happen in our state,” Quade said. “You — and our kids — deserve better. #MOleg needs to be on the right side of history.”
Wallis told the News-Leader he filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights.
This story was originally published September 8, 2021 at 9:31 AM with the headline "Teacher says he was asked to not discuss his sexuality — so he left Missouri school."