A memo by a Mansfield ISD elementary school principal outlines steps the district took to investigate an art teacher after three people complained she had told her students that "girls can marry girls and boys can marry boys."

In the Sept. 20 memo newly obtained by The Dallas Morning News, Charlotte Anderson Elementary School principal Sheira Petty detailed the complaints and initial investigation of art teacher Stacy Bailey from late-August to early September.

Mansfield ISD said in an emailed statement Tuesday that the memo shows the detailed procedures Petty and other district officials followed after Petty received multiple complaints from parents and guardians regarding Bailey's classroom discussions.

"Mrs. Petty's memo shows the thoroughness of the District's initial investigation," the statement says. "Following multiple discussions with the students, parents/guardians, and Mrs. Bailey, the District determined it was in the best interest of the students for Mrs. Bailey to be placed on leave with the district continued its investigation in the matter."

But Bailey's lawyer, Jason C.N. Smith, said Friday that Petty's memo only confirms that Bailey did nothing wrong.

"The district investigation is nonexistent," Smith said. "And for the district to waste a resource of a teacher by not letting her teach for eight months while paying her taxpayer money is inexcusable. It's suspect that Stacy has been kept off from work for eight months, but the investigation appears to be completed eight months ago."

According to Mansfield ISD art teacher Stacy Bailey's lawyer, Jason C.N. Smith, Bailey (left) showed this photo of her and her wife, Julie Vazquez, to students at the beginning of the 2017-18 school year. (File photo)

Petty wrote that she first received an emailed complaint against Bailey from an unidentified parent on Aug. 23.

When Petty called him a day later, the father mentioned a slideshow in which the 31-year-old teacher had shown her now-wife, Julie Vazquez, to students. He told Petty that he "did not appreciate talking about her private life to his young children." He also told Petty that Bailey had told her students "this isn't gross" and that they could marry whomever they want when they grow up.

"'Girls can marry girls and boys can marry boys,'" the father said that Bailey had told students, the memo states. "It is OK. Don't be afraid."

Principal's talk with teacher

Petty's memo states that when she talked to Bailey, the teacher said she may have said those things to her class but reminded Petty that gay marriage was legal. Bailey told Petty that she did not remember telling her students "It is OK. Don't be afraid" but that she may have done so.

"She said she started telling kids because they ask if she has a boyfriend," the principal's memo states. "She doesn't want to answer a lot of questions or have rumors out there and talking behind her back."

Petty's memo states that she also talked to the children of the father who sent the Aug. 23 complaint and that their account was similar to his.

On Aug. 25, Bailey met with Associate Superintendent Kimberley Cantu, who oversees human resources for the district, and acknowledged she had probably said those things to her class, the memo states. She also told Cantu that she wanted the district to add LGBTQ protections to its nondiscrimination policy, it states.

Bailey asked Cantu if she was in jeopardy of losing her job at the meeting, and Cantu told her no, the memo states.

The document also says that another unidentified parent and an unidentified grandparent also complained about Bailey talking about her sexual orientation with students.

The father who filed the Aug. 23 complaint emailed Petty a second complaint on Sept. 7, according to the memo. Petty's memo does not give details about that complaint.

Petty forwarded the father's second complaint to Cantu, who called the principal later that day and told her to call the dad and tell him that "he will see an obvious change tomorrow," the memo states. Cantu also told her to have Bailey come to human resources the next morning to talk with Cantu, it says.

The memo states that Cantu told Petty to "confiscate all technology" from Bailey's classroom after the teacher had left for the HR department and that Cantu would call Petty back once the two had talked. Cantu told Petty that Bailey would not be allowed back on campus during school hours but could schedule an off-hours time to retrieve personal items, it states.

Teacher put on leave

Petty told Bailey at 7:28 a.m. on Sept. 8. that Cantu wanted to see her and that she advised Bailey against not going. Bailey left about 20 minutes later, the memo states.

Records obtained by The Dallas Morning News show that Cantu sent Bailey a letter dated Sept. 8 notifying her that the district was putting her on leave with pay "until an investigation is completed." The letter gave no reason for her suspension.

Bailey filed a federal lawsuit May 8 accusing Mansfield ISD, Superintendent Jim Vaszauskas and Cantu of violating her rights under federal and state equal protection laws and the Texas Equal Rights Amendment.

Bailey's lawsuit states that Cantu told her a parent's complaint indicated she had shown "sexually inappropriate images to children." Bailey denies in the suit having done any such thing. Cantu then asked Bailey to sign documentation saying she would be placed on administrative leave with pay, it states.

In a May 8 prepared statement, Mansfield ISD "categorically" denied the allegations and said the suit had no merit.

Mansfield ISD placed Bailey on paid leave in September, saying parents had the right to "control the conversation with their children, especially as it relates to religion, politics, sex/sexual education, etc."

In late April, the school board renewed Bailey's contract for the 2018-19 school year. But Bailey's suit says that district officials had requested her resignation last October and that after renewing her contract, it reassigned her to a "secondary school."

Smith, Bailey's lawyer, previously said that she made "preliminary searches" for jobs with other districts but that her administrative leave status made it difficult for her to be an eligible candidate.