On the last day of school, one of David Schottner's first-grade students blurted a question in front of the class. Can two men marry? Schottner, who has been married to his partner for four years, paused.

On the last day of school, one of David Schottner's first-grade students blurted a question in front of the class.

Can two men marry?

Schottner, who has been married to his partner for four years, paused. He could explain to the 6-year-old the legal rights of same-sex couples, but decided to defer the question to the boy's parents.

"I didn't feel safe answering," said Schottner, who has been asked in the past by administrators to keep quiet about his personal life.

After nine years in Reynoldsburg, Schottner finally felt comfortable talking about the struggles he has faced as a gay educator last week - when the school board accepted his resignation.

"If a parent or community member complained to you as a board and demanded that gay and lesbian teachers not be allowed to teach the students of Reynoldsburg, you would face a difficult decision," he said at the board meeting. "Do I think that I would lose my job in Reynoldsburg based on my sexual orientation? I truly hope not, but I can't say for certain that I wouldn't, and that is scary."

Reynoldsburg is among a handful of central Ohio districts that don't include sexual orientation in their nondiscrimination policies. Advocates say the protective language is needed to ensure that gay, bisexual and transgender educators are judged based on their performance, not their sexual orientation.

"You're always afraid, feeling alone and disconnected from everyone," said Jimmie Beall, a counselor in Columbus schools who was fired from a teaching position in the London city schools in 2003 because school officials suspected that she was gay.

"That is what you live in when there isn't protection, when there isn't written, concrete, tangible, enforced protection which comes in the form of policies and legislation."

She filed a discrimination suit against London schools, which was settled out of court with the district agreeing to add sexual orientation to its nondiscrimination policy.

School districts can include the language in their policies but are not required to do so because "sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression" are not protected classes under state or federal law.

The State Board of Education debated whether to add sexual orientation to the list of those protected against discrimination in April, but ultimately voted against the proposal. Those who opposed it raised concerns that the language would impose on parochial schools.

Last year, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus fired a lesbian teacher at Bishop Watterson High School after she listed the name of her partner in a newspaper obituary for her mother. Diocesan officials said she violated the tenets of the Catholic Church and her employment contract by publicly disclosing an extramarital relationship.

Equality Ohio spokesman Grant Stancliff said the group wants a comprehensive nondiscrimination policy for all Ohio school districts so their standards are in line with Gov. John Kasich's 2011 executive order that protects state workers from discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Equality Ohio polled more than 600 registered voters last year and found that a majority of them thought state and federal law already protects individuals from discrimination based on sexual orientation. When they learned it didn't, about 72 percent of respondents said they believed the law should be changed.

"Getting something that will protect LGBT teachers in the state is a priority in large part because there are a large number of gay and lesbian students who are bullied," Stancliff said. "Having role models or people they can look up to is paramount."

Although advocates say policies in teachers' contracts are more meaningful to educators than those in board policies, they want to see protective language for LGBT educators in both. Under teachers' contracts, districts have legal procedures to follow when teachers file grievances. School officials would have to look into claims on their own under policies set by the school board.

Dublin and Worthington have protective language in teacher contracts, while Gahanna-Jefferson, Groveport Madison, Hilliard, South-Western and Westerville have board-approved policies. Bexley, Columbus and Olentangy have both.

A handful of districts, including Reynoldsburg, Grandview Heights, Hamilton and New Albany, don't because they align their language to state and federal law.

The Ohio School Boards Association recommends that districts "encourage a diverse and tolerant school climate but avoid language in board policy that is not legally required."

Schottner said Reynoldsburg's teachers union attempted to add sexual orientation to the contract's nondiscrimination policy during negotiations in 2011 and 2013, but both efforts were rejected.

The association has asked to add the language in current contract talks.

While in Reynoldsburg, Schottner said some parents removed their kids from his class because they didn't want a gay teacher educating their children. Administrators warned him about a potential backlash from parents when he wanted to mention his husband in a school newsletter.

Three years ago, a parent purchased the children's book, And Tango Makes Three, in his honor for the library at Summit STEM Elementary, where Schottner taught. The book is about two male penguins that raise a baby penguin together. Schottner loved the story but never had the courage to read it in his class.

"I never felt safe to truly be myself," he said.

He will teach this fall in Bexley, which is one of the few districts that provide health-insurance coverage for same-sex domestic partners. (Columbus and Olentangy are the others.) The district's nondiscrimination policy, including sexual orientation, is posted near his new classroom at Cassingham Elementary.

And if school leaders say it's OK, he'll read And Tango Makes Three to his students this year.

cboss@dispatch.com

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