Central Bucks hires former US Attorney William McSwain to investigate ACLUs allegation of anti-LGBTQ discrimination

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November 16, 2022 | 10:12 AM

Critics said the district is making fiscally irresponsible decisions with taxpayer dollars to defend its anti-LGBTQ measures. Emily Rizzo/WHYY Emily Rizzo is WHYY News suburban reporter covering Bucks and Montgomery counties. Previously, she covered education for Keystone Crossroads.

Prior to becoming a journalist, Emily, from New Jersey, was a documentary film and audio documentary producer. She studied English, film, and intergroup relations at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Kimberly Paytner / WHYY

US Attorney William McSwain outside the federal courthouse in Philadelphia.

The Central Bucks School District is hiring former US Attorney William McSwain to represent the district following the ACLU of Pennsylvaniasfederal complaint alleging the district has created a hostile environment for LGBTQ students

On Tuesday evening, the school board voted 6-3 to hire the Duane Morris law firm, with McSwain and former federal prosecutor Michael Rinaldi leading their legal team.

Opponent Tabitha DellAngelo said the move to hire someone who has been very vocal in their support for the very kinds of policies that the district is supposed to be reflective about is a mistake. DellAngelo is referring in part to comments McSwain made during his gubernatorial campaign referring to a West Chester Area School District Gay-Straight Alliance club sign as leftist political indoctrination.

A move like this looks like were less interested in getting it right and more interested in being right, DellAngelo said. I actually support the idea of ​​hiring counsel if we can hire somebody who’s going to be objective and really help us do right by our students.

Kimberly Paynter / WHYY

Parents, students and teachers rallied ahead of the Central Bucks School Districts vote to remove books perceived to have sexualized content from their libraries outside the districts headquarters in Doylestown on July 26, 2022.

Board President Dana Hunter writes in a newsletter to the community that McSwain and Rinaldi will perform an internal investigation into these issues and review the districts policies related to these matters.

Parents and students filled the regularly contentious school board meeting room once again on Tuesday evening many in response to a policy that some fear would censor teachers and ban Pride flags (which has been tabled for now), and the districts decision to hire McSwain.

Critics said the district is making fiscally irresponsible decisions with taxpayer dollars to defend its anti-LGBTQ measures.

Laura Napier, a district parent, criticized the board forhiring the law firm and Philadelphia public relations firm Devine & Partners, and said both moves were to protect cruelty and to defend the indefensible.

Because you cannot take the heat you brought upon yourselves with your poor choices, your own politicization of our children cruelty to those entrusted in your care, youre hiring a costly lawyer with very political views, Napier said.

Some parents thanked the district for not pushing a certain agenda that goes against their religion. The LGBTQ movement is at odds with many people’s faiths. There is no reason this agenda must be pushed in schools, said Sharon Walbridge, of Warrington, who then said teachers should opt out of their local union.

The ACLU complaint filed to the US Department of Education and US Department of Justice alleges the district has violated Title IX for discrimination based on sex, has allowed severe and pervasive bullying against LGBTQ students, especially transgender youth, and has exacerbated a toxic environment with a series of what they say are discriminatory policies, guidelines, and behaviors.

The US Department of Education has decided it will investigate the ACLUs complaint.

McSwain sought the Republican nomination for governor earlier this year, and fell in third with just 15.8% of the vote. During his campaign, McSwain posted a photo of a West Chester Area School District Gay-Straight alliance club signon Facebook and wrote, This ends when Im governor.

In one of his campaign videos, McSwain said, The radical left wants our schools to indoctrinate our children to believe that America is a racist country I will ensure that our schools teach the founding principles that have made America the greatest country in history. Pennlive reported that McSwain , along with the other GOP candidates, opposed allowing transgender women to play girls or womens sports.

Kimberly Paynter / WHYY

Parents, students, and teachers rallied ahead of the Central Bucks School Districts vote to remove books perceived to have sexualized content from their libraries outside the districts headquarters in Doylestown on July 26, 2022. (

McSwain has also worked on several conservative cases. He defended the Boy Scouts anti-gay ban, after Philadelphia attempted to evict the group.

During the districts October school board meeting, Hunter called upon the ACLU to release an unredacted version of its complaint. In Hunters Monday newsletter, she repeated the request and said it was so that the allegations can be addressed appropriately and with due regard for the rights of all involved. She said the ACLU is withholding information, and the complaint is a partisan, political tool.

The ACLU has said the organization decided to file a complaint rather than a lawsuit to keep the students, who are minors, anonymous. The ACLU said the students fear retaliation from the administration and the community.

In response to Hunters request, ACLU Legal Director Vic Walczak said, They know who the bullied students are. They are the ones the administration and board have ignored and disrespected.

District parent Rebecca Barrett said demanding the unredacted version of the complaint is bullying behavior from the district. She spoke about her child getting called homophobic slurs and sprayed with table cleaning solution in a Central Bucks middle school cafeteria. Barrett said the district suspended the student who harassed her child about three weeks after the incident, but overall didnt handle it appropriately.

Its not really a big deal in Central Bucks homophobic slurs, Barrett said.

She said she believes the potential end game of these wars taking place in schools across the nation is to annihilate the public school system and to monetize education. Barrett said maybe the intentions are to further marginalize those of a different race, religion, social class, or my kid, whos left of center, when it comes to gender or sexuality.

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