Claim Filed After Beverly Hills Unified Fires Teacher For Protected Speech

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Dec. 4, 2024 — A teacher who was fired as she was preparing students for their national AP U.S. History exam has filed an administrative claim against Beverly Hills Unified School District for wrongful termination and violation of her First Amendment rights.

Joanie Garratt, a respected AP History teacher with over 30 years of service in the BHUSD, 

was fired over a Facebook post she made criticizing president-elect Donald Trump and reacting to a group of pro-Trump students who gathered on Nov. 6 outside a classroom where the school’s Black Student Union was meeting. Black students reported being the targets of racist slurs from those in the pro-Trump crowd, who also bullied and harassed students who did not support Trump.

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