A former Montgomery County teacher has filed a lawsuit against her former boss and the Maryland school district after she says she was subjected to years of sexual harassment and intimidation and that the school tried to cover it up.
The former teacher at Farquhar Middle School in Olney, named as Jane Doe in the suit, claims Principal Dr. Joel Beidleman repeatedly made sexual comments and advances toward her then intimidated and bullied her for ignoring them.
The 20-page complaint lists more than 30 instances of sexual harassment, discrimination and intimidation.
Among the sexual harassment allegations, the suit states Beidleman requested her to meet him at hotels for sexual encounters on multiple occasions and made suggestive comments about her body. The lawsuit also claims that Beidleman made explicit comments toward Doe in front of colleagues at an after-work happy hour.
In addition to the sexual harassment, the suit claims that when Doe did not respond to his advances, he became jealous of anyone she talked to, even spying on her conversations with co-workers using the school’s camera system.
The suit claims Beidleman also intimidated her and made her feel her job was in jeopardy. For Instance:
“In April, 2022, Dr. Beidleman accused Plaintiff of telling someone about his conduct toward her and ‘that someone was talking to his wife.’ He threatened Plaintiff not to reveal information to anyone. He stated, ‘I might have to reconsider your job here for next year.'”
Lawsuit: MCPS ignored complaints
The suit also claims Montgomery County Public Schools ignored and covered up reports of the abuse.
According to the suit, “since 2016 there have been at least 25 verbal or written reports submitted to the school district about Dr. Beidleman by staff members, parents and union stewards. MCPS ignored most, if not all, of these complaints and refused to perform the required investigations into Dr. Beidleman.”
The suit went on to claim that once the district did investigate the claims, it altered findings, as they were looking to promote Beidleman to a new position as principal of Paint Branch High School.
“Instead of performing an objective and good faith investigation, MCPS tampered with the Beidleman investigation,” the suit claims. “MCPS initially concluded that the Plaintiff’s complaint was meritorious and that Beidleman had harassed and/or intimidated her. That finding was submitted to the MCPS the same day that Beidleman was interviewed for the Paint Branch job.”
The lawsuit goes on to say: “However, MCPS subsequently ordered a change to that conclusion to the report ‘to reflect that there was not enough evidence to substantiate’ the Plaintiff’s claim. MCPS also changed certain dates of the investigation on documents to aid Beidleman. In effect, MCPS chose to cover-up Beidleman’s conduct so they could reward him.”
The heavily-redacted, public report by law group Jackson Lewis for MCPS found that nobody involved in the promotion of Beidleman violated school system policies or engaged in ‘intentional misconduct’ during his promotion earlier this year. The hiring of Jackson Lewis for the district’s investigation has been critiqued by members of the Parents Coalition of Montgomery County and the Montgomery County Council.
Montgomery County’s inspector general is also opening two investigations into the public school system related to the handling of the allegations of harassment and bullying.
MCPS superintendent Monifa McKnight promised “if there is any rot, we will root it out” when referring to Beidleman’s promotion and has replaced the county’s former deputy superintendent, along with other high-level district administrators.
This may not be the only legal action against Dr. Beidleman and MCPS.
The Montgomery County Education Association, the local teachers union, has sent a message to members about a law firm looking for any other employees who may have been abused or intimidated and may be able to take part in a class-action lawsuit.
WTOP has reached out to Montgomery County Public Schools for comment.
