The Maryland Court of Appeals has agreed to hear a case filed by a Richard Montgomery High School teacher seeking whistleblower protection.
The state’s highest court announced last month that it would review a Maryland Court of Special Appeals ruling that the state’s whistleblower laws do not apply to the teacher.
The social studies teacher, Brian Donlon, claimed in his lawsuit that he was punished for telling the press that Richard Montgomery was manipulating Advanced Placement statistics. He submitted a whistleblower complaint against Montgomery County Public Schools in December 2014, but judges have disagreed about whether he’s eligible for the state protection.
Initially, an administrative law judge agreed with MCPS that Donlon didn’t count as a state employee and therefore doesn’t fall under the whistleblower law.
On appeal, a circuit court judge sided with Donlon.
In July, the appellate judges overturned the circuit court judge’s decision and sided with MCPS.
The Court of Appeals ordered the special appeals court to hand over the case record by Jan. 2, court records show.
Bethany Rodgers can be reached at bethany.rodgers@moco360.media.