We’d normally say, “only in Oregon,” but cases like these are springing up all over the country, not just in extreme-progressive enclaves.

Fifth-grade teacher Leo Soell has been awarded substantial damages after claims co-workers refused to use Soell’s preferred pronoun, “they.”

The plural-specific pronoun was likely chosen because the teacher considers himself — no wait, “themselves” — to be “two-gendered.” Or gender aspecific. Or “two-spirited” or bi-gender, or agender, or…. it’s so hard to keep track!

We’ll let The Oregonian take it from here:

The Gresham-Barlow School District has agreed to pay $60,000 and make sweeping changes across its nearly two dozen campuses after a transgender elementary school teacher complained of more than a year of harassment from coworkers.

Soell identifies as neither male nor female and uses the pronoun they instead of he or she. But, Soell wrote, coworkers continuously called Soell “she,” “lady” or “Miss Soell.” Someone smeared Vaseline on Soell’s cabinets, the complaint said, and another yelled insults in the school hallway. Others conspired to prevent Soell from using the school’s lone gender-neutral bathroom, the complaint said.

A district investigation, which officials have declined to release, found no proof of harassment.

But Gresham-Barlow officials agreed to a settlement this month that compensates Soell for emotional damages. District leaders also agreed to add gender-neutral bathrooms to all schools, create clear policies about transgender teachers and host mandatory trainings for all Gresham principals, as well as Hall staff.

According to the report, Soell waited until after undergoing a double-mastectomy to treat breast cancer before coming out at work. That’s when Soell said the harassment began:

Gresham didn’t have a clear policy when Soell returned from medical leave in May 2015. Instead, according to teachers, the then-principal told them not to announce Soell’s name change or refer to Soell as “they” in front of students.

If kids asked whether Soell was a boy or a girl, district leaders told Soell to respond, “We all have private lives, and it would not be appropriate to talk about our private lives during the school day.” A district spokeswoman last year said administrators were worried about “age appropriateness.”

Soell said coworkers responded by intentionally calling Soell “lady” or “Miss Soell.”

“Another teacher yelled at me openly in the school hallway, saying that my gender is a ‘belief system’ that I do not have the right to make other people follow and that God is on her side,” Soell said in a complaint, obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Still, Soell said, the harassment continued through last fall. Soell said a group of seven teachers and educational assistants used the wrong pronouns intentionally in front of parents and students.

Others blocked Soell from using the bathroom, the complaint said. Hall Elementary had only one gender-neutral restroom. In previous school years, Soell said, no teachers used it.

After Soell began using it, half a dozen non-transgender teachers also started using that restroom, forcing Soell to wait as long as 30 minutes.

In November, Gresham-Barlow sent Soell a letter saying it had investigated Soell’s claims and found no proof of harassment. The district declined to share details of the investigation with Soell or The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Nonetheless, Soell hired an attorney. And won:

As part of the settlement, district leaders agreed to build gender-neutral restrooms at all Gresham-Barlow schools within three years. The district also agreed to pay Soell $60,000 for attorney fees and emotional distress. That amount also covers money Soell spent out-of-pocket for cancer-related expenses that the district’s health insurance rejected because Soell is transgender.

The greater victory, Soell said, will affect teachers across Gresham. District leaders agreed to develop official guidelines about transgender staff by August. Those guidelines, inspired by similar policies in Portland and Eugene, will address names and pronouns, as well as bathroom access for transgender employees.

This is less about discrimination than political activism, a game of politics. The Left has conjured another non-issue into existence expressly for the purpose of “shaming” conservatives and painting them as bigots yet again.

http://www.truthrevolt.org/news/teacher-awarded-60k-after-co-workers-wont-call-her-they