Teacher at Maryland high school given half a million dollars in a lawsuit over accusations of racism
In a landmark ruling, a Montgomery County Circuit Court jury awarded Dan Engler, a former teacher at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, half a million dollars in damages after finding the school board defamed him in a 2023 incident.
The incident in question occurred on February 8, 2023, when Engler was enforcing a seating chart in his classroom to help him learn student names. According to Engler, he did not make any racist comments, but two Black students took his words as such.
Following the incident, Principal Shelton Mooney sent a school-wide letter labelling the interaction a "hate-bias incident." Although the letter did not specifically name Engler, he claims it was obvious he was identified due to community reaction and media inquiries.
Engler filed a lawsuit in August 2023 against Principal Mooney and the Montgomery County school board, alleging defamation and policy violation. He sought $75,000 in damages.
The court verdict, delivered in August 2025, found the school board's school-wide email and handling of the incident defamatory. Engler was awarded $500,000 in damages plus $18,000 in prejudgment interest, totaling $518,000.
Engler maintains that he did not make the statement attributed to him in the email and "did not do anything that could reasonably be classified as a 'hate bias incident'." He expressed that losing the trust of his students due to the school-wide email was devastating.
The Montgomery County School Board did not comment to Digital about the defamation case. Principal Mooney's lawyer did not return a request for comment. The U.S. Supreme Court, meanwhile, ruled that parents can opt their children out of reading LGBTQ material in schools, a separate issue from the Engler case.
The Montgomery County Police Department was notified as an internal investigation was ongoing. Engler resumed teaching at another school in the district after his disability leave. The ruling is being analysed by legal experts Jonathan Turley and Phil Holloway.
Summary of key details: - Incident date: February 8, 2023 - Incident: Engler enforcing seating chart; alleged comment on not distinguishing Black students - Principal Mooney’s response: community letter labeling it a hate-bias incident - Lawsuit filed: August 2023 against Mooney and school board for defamation and policy violation - Outcome: 2025 court verdict awarded Engler $518,000 in damages for defamation - Dan Engler maintains he did not make the statement attributed to him in the email and "did not do anything that could reasonably be classified as a 'hate bias incident'." - Engler stated that losing the trust of his students due to the school-wide email was devastating.
In the aftermath of the court verdict, legal experts Jonathan Turley and Phil Holloway are analyzing the case, which involved not only a debate about politics and education-and-self-development but also a clash of health (psychological impact on a teacher) and general-news (school-wide letter and media coverage). Engler, despite being labeled as a perpetrator of a 'hate-bias incident', maintained that he did not make the statement attributed to him and did not engage in any actions that could reasonably be classified as such, further emphasizing the complexity of interpreting events in the realm of politics.
