A veteran teacher in Maryland has been awarded a substantial financial settlement after a jury found he was defamed by his school's principal, who falsely accused him of making a racist comment to students.
The Incident and the Defamatory Email
The controversy began during the spring semester at Bethesda-Chevy Chase (B-CC) High School in Montgomery County. Daniel Engler, a health teacher, asked two 10th-grade black girls to adhere to the seating chart rather than sit together. He explained he used the chart to learn students' names, but the girls interpreted his request as him being unable to tell them apart due to their race.
The girls complained, and the matter reached the school's principal, Shelton L. Mooney. Without conducting a proper investigation, Mooney sent a community-wide email with the subject line 'Hate Bias Incident'. The email stated Engler had engaged in 'unacceptable and harmful behaviour', claiming he told students he was 'unable to distinguish [African-American students] from other African American students'. Engler vehemently denied ever making such a statement.
A Costly Legal Battle for Justice
In 2023, Engler filed a defamation lawsuit against the Board of Education of Montgomery County Public Schools and former principal Mooney. His legal team argued the principal employed a 'shoot first and ask questions later' approach.
During the trial, Mooney admitted he had fabricated the direct quote attributed to Engler and was instead summarising what he had been told. Following the email, Engler was removed as the boys' crew team coach and took extended medical leave.
After over two years, a jury ruled in Engler's favour, awarding him $518,000 in damages. However, after legal fees, Engler received less than $400,000 and went into debt to fund his case, a debt he is still repaying.
Community Division and Broader Lessons
The case sparked significant backlash and divided the community. Lyric Winik, former president of the Parent Teacher Student Association, said the email was 'shocking' and that the school system is 'impossible to stand up against'. She praised Engler's 'bravery' for fighting the allegations.
Former assistant principal Vickie Adamson described the school as 'a difficult place racially', but reflected that she 'didn’t think that anything wrong was done' in the handling of the initial complaint.
Engler stated his motivation clearly: 'If I didn’t fight, I would have had to lie down and accept being defined as a racist.' He expressed that he did not blame the students and hoped administrators would learn to maintain open communication with teachers before rushing to public judgement.
