Jennifer Eller alleges abuse in PG County schools. (Photo courtesy of Lambda Legal)

Attorneys representing a transgender teacher who sued the Prince George’s County, Md., public school system in November for allegedly subjecting her to discrimination, harassment, and abuse because of her gender identity have entered into discussions with the school system over a possible “amicable” settlement of the lawsuit.

Disclosure of the settlement overtures surfaced in a joint motion filed in court on Feb. 26 by attorneys for former English teacher Jennifer Eller, 37, and attorneys for the Prince George’s County Public Schools and two other parties being sued by Eller.

The motion, which was approved along with a related order the same day by U.S. District Court Judge Theodore D. Chuang, calls for suspending for 30 days all scheduled actions related to the lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

“The purpose for this request is to allow the Parties a thirty (30) day period to engage in meaningful settlement discussions and to avoid the expense associated with the existing deadlines unless further litigation is necessary,” the motion states.

“Given the parties are jointly requesting this limited stay of discovery in order to explore the possibility of settlement, a stay is particularly appropriate,” it says. “Indeed, entry of a limited stay is most appropriate in circumstances such as these, as it would conserve scarce judicial resources as well as time and effort for the parties, and significantly, open the door to settlement.”

In his order granting the motion, Judge Chuang states: “Having reviewed the papers and being fully advised, the Court GRANTS the request for good cause shown.”

In addition to the P.G. County Public Schools, Eller’s lawsuit names as defendants the P.G. County Board of Education and the school system’s interim CEO Monica Goldson.

Eller charges in the lawsuit that as a female transgender teacher she was subjected to five years of discrimination, harassment, abuse and retaliation by school administrators, fellow teachers, students and parents after she transitioned in 2011 from male to female.

The lawsuit says she was forced to resign from her teaching job in 2017 after being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder due to the alleged abuse she faced on the job.

In its official answer to the lawsuit filed in court on Feb. 11, attorneys for the school system deny the allegations in the lawsuit and claim the school system had in place nondiscrimination policies that covered gender identity and sexual orientation for employees and students.

Although the answer denies the lawsuit’s overall allegations, it doesn’t provide specific responses to or explanations of the lawsuit’s numerous reports of specific instances of harassment against Eller during her five-year tenure as a teacher in the school system. Instead, the answer states at least 62 times, “Defendants are without sufficient knowledge or information to form a belief as to the truth of this averment; therefore deny.”

Eller is being represented by the LGBT litigation group Lambda Legal and the D.C.-based law firm Arnold and Porter.

“The joint motion for a brief stay and subsequent court order speak for themselves,” said Lambda Legal spokesperson Samy Nemir. “Neither Ms. Eller nor her attorneys are available to comment on any possible settlement discussions at this juncture,” Nemir told the Blade

A spokesperson for the P.G. County Public Schools and one of its attorneys couldn’t immediately be reached for comment on the settlement discussion.