Trans band teacher accepted an Iowa school job offer. Days before classes, the board blocked his hiring

A transgender music teacher in Iowa says a school board blocked his hiring days before the school year began.

Ace Rios told Omaha CBS affiliate KMTV that he had accepted an offer to teach music at a high school in Tabor, Iowa. But the Fremont-Mills Community School Board deadlocked 2-2 on approving his contract. One board member was absent, and under board rules, the tie meant the motion failed.

An agenda shows Rios’ name among eight new hires considered by the board on August 19. The public agenda did not state a reason for the failed vote, and the district has not publicly explained what factors board members considered. Rios believes the decision amounted to discrimination based on his gender identity.

“I am extremely qualified to be here, but I am being discriminated against because of the way that I look and my life outside of here,” Rios told the news station.

Rios had already been assigned a classroom and was preparing to teach band when district administrators told him he would not be able to begin teaching. He packed up his classroom before classes began Monday.

As a transgender person, Rios said he always carries a fear that his gender identity will lead to discrimination; he was kicked out of his home at age 16. But having already received a job offer and the support of school staff, he did not expect the board to block his hiring.

“Unfortunately, I live this every day, and it was a concern. I did not think it would be a concern to this extent considering I had received a job offer and I had support from the school staff and everything,” he said.

Rios previously worked as a substitute teacher for Omaha Public Schools**.**

While a number of local governments in Iowa previously adopted ordinances prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a law this year barring cities and counties from keeping such protections in place.

That came a year after Reynolds signed a law removing gender identity from the Iowa Civil Rights Act. Iowa became the first state to strip away a protected characteristic previously enshrined in its civil rights code.

Iowa’s repeal does not eliminate federal protections against employment discrimination. In the Supreme Court’s 2020 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, the justices ruled 6-3 that discrimination against an employee for being transgender or gay constitutes sex discrimination prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Title VII expressly prohibits covered employers from refusing to hire an applicant because of sex, meaning Bostock applies to hiring decisions as well as firings.

Rios told KMTV that he intends to retain legal counsel. The district superintendent and board president declined to discuss the decision, citing the district’s policy against commenting on personnel matters.