Bisexual teacher
sues former school district

A bisexual fifth-grade teacher has sued his former school district, claiming that administrators harassed him and forced him to quit. Emmit Hancock, a former teacher at Willow Oaks Elementary School in Menlo Park, Calif., sued the Ravenswood City School District last week, seeking unspecified monetary damages.

In his October 13 filing in Santa Clara County superior court, the 27-year-old teacher said the harassment started after he told his students about his sexuality. Hancock said he wanted to stop them from shouting gay slurs at each other on the playground. They later asked him to explain why he liked men. "They wanted to know why, why do I love somebody of the same gender?" Hancock said. "I tried to change the subject as quickly as possible."

When parents complained, Hancock said, he was told to resign. The district's attorney said Hancock was not forced out and the district did nothing wrong. San Mateo County counsel Tim Fox said Hancock resigned in January because his educational philosophy was at odds with what administrators wanted. "He may think some things happened to him because he is gay," Fox said, "but in reality it happened for other reasons." (AP)