Updated April 6, 2017 at 6:48 p.m. to include a response from Mansfield ISD.

Questions have swirled for months about Mansfield ISD's suspension of a popular teacher after at least one parent complained she discussed her sexual orientation with her elementary students.

Stacy Bailey

As the controversy grew, the district said it had put art teacher Stacy Bailey on leave with pay last fall because parents have the right to "control the conversation with their children, especially as it relates to religion, politics, sex/sexual education, etc."

Although legal experts say districts have wide discretion to place a staff member on administrative leave, they said officials must show a specific policy has been breached to cut ties with a teacher.

“A parental complaint is not enough, because parents complain all the time,” said employment attorney Amanda Reichek, who has represented Dallas ISD teachers.

Bailey has been on leave from Charlotte Anderson Elementary for seven months. Most Mansfield ISD teachers are on one-year “term contracts” that usually get renewed at the end of the school year. Those agreements give teachers certain rights and protections.

It's unclear exactly what Bailey said to her students, or in which grade levels. Her attorney explained in a written statement last week that the problems started after the 31-year-old teacher spoke to her students about her family, including her wife.

Hope Boyd, a Mansfield ISD spokeswoman, pointed to several sections and codes of the Mansfield ISD board manual that give parents the right to control conversations regarding sexual orientation.

These state that parents are "entitled to review all teaching materials, instructional and other teaching aids used in the classroom, " and that "parents will be full partners with educators in the education of their children."

When teaching about controversial issues, "teachers shall not use the classroom to transmit personal beliefs regarding political or sectarian issues." And when selecting topics for discussion in the classroom, teachers must "be adequately informed about the issue and capable of providing instruction on the subject, free from personal bias."

According to the Texas Education Agency, there is no provision in the state’s education code that forbids teachers from discussing their sexual orientation in school.

Such bans are not unheard of. Last year, Utah struck down a law that prohibited “the advocacy of homosexuality” in the classroom. And in Tennessee, state lawmakers have sponsored — but ultimately failed to pass — a bill that would have forbidden the discussion of homosexuality in elementary and middle schools.

Mansfield ISD hasn't publicly accused Bailey of discussing sex or graphic content with children. But the district said Bailey had insisted it was her right and age appropriate to have “ongoing discussions” with her students about her sexual orientation, as well as that of artists and their relationships with other gay artists.

Bailey’s attorney, Giana Ortiz, has disputed the district’s account. She said Bailey had not received nor defied any directive to change her behavior.

How far is too far?

Attorneys consulted by The Dallas Morning News said it would be improper for a teacher to discuss his or her sex life with students, but not to make a passing reference to a same-sex spouse or partner.

“They’ve got to treat teachers equally,” Reichek said. “They cannot penalize ... [Bailey] for doing something that straight teachers do. That would be discriminatory.”

Parents have the right to teach their children what they believe, but teachers should also be entrusted to use their best judgment in the classroom, she said.

For example, she said, if a student asks a gay teacher whether she is living in sin, the teacher should have the discretion to say, "I don't believe I am" and explain why in response to a student's question.

Martha Owen, general counsel for the Texas American Federation of Teachers, said it’s typical for teachers, particularly elementary school teachers, to talk about their families as a way to introduce themselves.

“It’s just super common to talk about their husbands, kids and pets,” she said. “And if that’s what this teacher did ... then I don’t think they would have a reason to place her on administrative leave or not renew her contract.”

She said bringing up an artist's sexual orientation is acceptable if it's relevant to the curriculum, just as one might discuss how Vincent van Gogh's mental state played a role in his art.

It’s not improper to bring up an artist’s sexual orientation in an art class as long as the teacher is giving factual information, said Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, a staff attorney with Lambda Legal, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocacy group.

“We cannot allow for personal beliefs at home to dictate the reality that is part of our world,” he said.

A representative from the Texas Association of School Administrators declined to comment on whether parents have the right to control which topics their children are exposed to in school.

What happens next?

If a district wants to sever ties with a teacher under a term contract, it has two options, Reichek said. It can end the contract early — fire the teacher, essentially — or it can choose not to renew it at the end of the term.

The first option sets a higher legal burden for the district because it has to show “good cause.” Reichek said school officials would have to prove three things: that the teacher was on clear notice that she had broken a rule, that she disobeyed a directive to stop the behavior and that the rule is a fair one.

But if the school district chooses not to renew the contract, it has to show only that there was a violation of a district policy, Reichek said.

If Mansfield ISD decides not to renew Bailey’s contract, she will have the right to contest her nonrenewal in front of the school board.

“The fact that they have left her on administrative leave and paying her says to me that they didn’t have a strong enough case for termination,” Owen said. “What they may be very well doing is waiting to end the contract. Instead of terminating her, they may do a nonrenewal.”

Some parents, students and teachers have rallied in support of Bailey at the last two Mansfield ISD board meetings. An "LGBT Protections for MISD Employees and Students" petition has collected 4,483 signatures as of Thursday.

Shannon Parker-Rutter, who identified herself as a Mansfield ISD teacher who has a same-sex spouse, said in a public Facebook post that she worries she could lose her job when students ask her whether she’s married.

“But I answer honestly and I will continue to do so for many reasons: I don't lie to children. I won't hide who I am,” she wrote. “And, my wife deserves better than that.”