Los Gatos teacher who gave ‘F’ grades to students protesting gun violence sues Loma Prieta district, administration
David Kissner has stood firmly behind his decision to give the kids failing grades, and in his opinion the school district and administrators violated his constitutional rights to free speech.
A former Los Gatos teacher who gave students ‘F’ grades on a math quiz they skipped — attending a walkout against gun violence on campus instead — filed a lawsuit against the Loma Prieta Joint Union School District and numerous school officials, claiming he was unlawfully laid off, fired and retaliated against for his political speech against the protest, among other issues in the district.
David Kissner, who taught math and science at C.T. English Middle School, claims the district used an “unlawful and unconstitutional abuse of its power” against him, “not because he opposed the political cause being promoted but because he opposed the District breaking the law and violating the Constitution,” the lawsuit reads.
“In ordinary times, his informed objection to the District’s participation in and promotion of a student walkout should have earned him respectful feedback. It instead drew vociferous attacks,” it continues.
District officials did not immediately respond to an interview request on Wednesday about why it laid off or fired Kissner, or to the complaint filed Wednesday. The district brought in facilitators after controversy erupted over the grades. And some parents and students showed up at a school board meeting demanding to know why he was fired.
In a series of events starting in March 2018, Kissner told students he was giving a quiz on the same day and at the same time as the March 14 National Student Walkout against gun violence. Kissner gave three students failing grades on a quiz after they left class to join a walkout aimed at bringing attention to gun violence after the Parkland school shooting.
Kissner has stood firmly behind his decision to give the kids failing grades, and in his opinion the school district and administrators violated his constitutional rights to free speech.
In an interview Wednesday, Kissner said he didn’t have a problem with students wanting to politically express themselves, but takes issue with the school district supporting students to take a side on the “political controversy of gun violence.”
“They can protest, it’s not a matter of debate,” he said, adding, “Wouldn’t any student expect that if they walked out of class it would affect their grade?”
In the interview, Kissner said he was not surprised by the district’s move to lay him off in April, or fire him in December last year. The district placed Kissner on paid leave in May 2021. He never returned to the classroom.
“It was kind of expected in the years running up to it,” Kissner said. “We’re in the business of education. One important question to ask is: What are we teaching our kids? We know there’s difference of opinion, and kids are seeing people in power create reasons to get rid of opposition.”
Kissner’s suit claims the district violated his civil rights on political issues, and defamed him after he became the subject of accusations of grooming, or sexually abusing minors, at the school. Kissner denied the claims, and called the accusations “atrocious” and “politically motivated.”
“It’s the worst thing that anybody could do to somebody else,” he said.
“These charges were outrageous and resulted in the permanent loss of his standing in the community, which he was forced to leave,” his lawsuit adds.
His attorney, Bill Becker, president and chief counsel for Freedom X, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit public interest law firm protecting conservative freedom of expression, said the main thrust of moving forward with the lawsuit is that Kissner “was retaliated against by the school district for taking a position it didn’t like.”
“And it divided the community,” Becker said.