Alexandra Robbins substitute-teaches in Montgomery County Public Schools, in a cluster separate from the ones described in this article.
A Montgomery County Public Schools compliance coordinator who found “stone cold sexual harassment” during an internal investigation of Farquhar Middle School principal Joel Beidleman was ordered to reverse his finding—and, according to a complaint filed by the coordinator, has suffered retaliation after he protested and spoke to outside investigators.
Department of Compliance and Investigations (DCI) coordinator Khalid Walker was publicly tagged as the author of a report last year that cleared Beidleman of misconduct allegations, leading to harassment and threats against Walker from members of the public, Walker said. Yet Walker told MoCo360 he was instructed to rewrite the report after Beidleman was promoted to be principal of Paint Branch High School in Burtonsville. Walker claimed that MCPS has not taken steps to publicly absolve him.
Instead, Walker said that after he revealed the situation to investigators, senior MCPS officials demanded he turn in his MCPS-issued laptop while he was on leave during the days following his daughter’s birth. He refused, for fear of tampering, and they locked him out of district computer systems, he said. When Walker returned to the office, MCPS transferred him out of his compliance coordinator role to a position in the human resources department, where he processes Americans with Disabilities Act requests.
Walker alleged that the administrators who have retaliated against him include two of the most senior leaders in MCPS: Chief of Human Resources and Development April Key and Chief Operations Officer Brian Hull, who was acting superintendent for a short period last fall and who ranks just below Superintendent Monifa McKnight, according to an MCPS organizational chart.
In response to MoCo360’s questions to the district, Key and Hull for this story, Chris Cram, a spokesman for MCPS, emailed the following statement: “Personnel matters are subject to strict privacy rules provided by law. A number of the items you have asked about were addressed in the Inspector General’s report released November 29 and others remain under investigation. For these reasons, we cannot provide specific comments or details to your questions. We understand the importance of transparency, but we must adhere to the requirements.”
None of the questions MoCo360 posed to MCPS were answered in the inspector general’s Nov. 29 report.
The retaliation allegations—made to MoCo360, partly documented in emails and summarized in a discrimination-based-on-retaliation complaint Walker filed Nov. 8 with the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights—come as the district awaits the second of two investigations by the Montgomery County inspector general. On Dec. 1, the IG publicly released a report that substantiated claims that “Beidleman’s conduct violated MCPS’s sexual harassment and workplace bullying policies, and MCPS’s Employee Code of Conduct.” In the wake of an earlier investigation by Baltimore law firm Jackson Lewis, the district reported that one official was no longer employed by MCPS and two other leaders were placed on administrative leave.
Beidleman had a reputation for inappropriate behavior, 88 current and former MCPS central office employees, administrators and staff members who had interacted with him told this reporter. Educators and parents notified the district at least 25 times in seven years about his alleged misconduct, according to complaints shared in interviews with this reporter and/or located by Jackson Lewis.
For example, Beidleman repeatedly harassed a social studies teacher, telling her in front of coworkers, “You should just f— me,” and suggesting she “shave your p—- and sell the hair,” she alleged in an official complaint to the Department of Compliance and Investigations (DCI) obtained by MoCo360. At least nine educators who left Farquhar in June told this reporter that they quit because of Beidleman’s conduct.
MCPS did not place Beidleman on leave until the district received a media inquiry about him in early August. Beidleman has referred questions from MoCo360 to attorney Jay Crump, who did not return calls for comment. Cram did not reply to MoCo360’s inquiry about whether Beidleman, who remains on leave, according to the school system, continues to receive his promotion-level salary of $191,000.
The social studies teacher’s sexual harassment, discrimination and workplace bullying complaint to MCPS, filed Feb. 3, 2023, included 20 allegations of Beidleman’s misconduct since 2019. After Walker spoke with the teacher, he presented the allegations to DCI director Michaele Simmons and recommended they proceed with an investigation, he told MoCo360. Simmons, according to Walker, told him that the allegations were “not the worst” she had heard about Beidleman and agreed that Walker could investigate.
Simmons declined to comment for this story. She is no longer employed by the district, according to Cram.
‘Stone cold sexual harassment’
Walker told MoCo360 he found “stone cold sexual harassment” and submitted his findings to Simmons on June 12. Nevertheless on June 27, MCPS promoted Beidleman to be the Paint Branch principal.
Walker’s original findings revealed “a preponderance of the evidence to support” some of the social studies teacher’s claims, according to the report commissioned by the Board of Education from Jackson Lewis. The board, which received the report Sept. 8, released a heavily redacted version to the public on Oct. 12.
However, Walker told MoCo360 that on July 11—one day after The Washington Post filed a Maryland Public Information Act request for Beidleman’s personnel file—Simmons entered his office with a red pen and a hard copy of his draft, and instructed him to change his finding. Walker told MoCo360 he knew then that “there was something nefarious going on. She would have set up a meeting and made tracked changes if it was above board. That’s how we generally do it.”
Walker recalled protesting, “This isn’t the right thing to do—I really think this is sexual harassment” and Simmons replying, “If we find sexual harassment, we have to fire him” and ordering him to change his report. Walker said there were no witnesses to the conversation; Simmons declined to comment.
The Jackson Lewis report confirmed that the June 12 draft was changed “on or about July 11, 2023.” The report appeared to indicate that the change was due to two concerns regarding the evidence for Walker’s initial findings. It stated, “Apparently, [redacted] was concerned about the failure of [redacted] to provide the text messages [redacted] referenced” and that “[redacted] noted that there were inconsistencies between the witnesses’ recollection” of an allegation.
The social studies teacher told MoCo360 that she did not provide text messages to DCI because by the time Walker asked her for them in writing (in an email obtained by MoCo360), more than two-and-a-half months after she’d filed her complaint, the MCPS investigation had gone on for so long without update that she had lost faith in the process. She also told MoCo360 that she worried that producing Beidleman’s texts would provoke Beidleman. Between the time she filed her complaint and the date she saw Walker’s email requesting the texts, she alleged that Beidleman had continued to target her. She recalled that he yelled at her about a trivial matter, for example, and that when she interviewed for a position at another school, Beidleman said that what he told that school’s principal about her would “determine if you get the job or not.”
A Farquhar coworker at the time, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she fears retaliation from the school system, confirmed that the social studies teacher recounted that conversation to her “immediately after it happened. [The social studies teacher] was upset. She felt threatened and said that no matter what she did, she couldn’t get away from him because he held the power.” The social studies teacher also referred to that conversation in a May 2023 text exchange with the coworker, obtained by MoCo360, about whether she had “suffered retaliation.”
A second Farquhar colleague who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution said the social studies teacher was “stressed and in tears” shortly after the conversation, and that she asked him, “What if [Beidleman] gives me a bad rec?”
“I was fearful of retaliation from Joel,” the social studies teacher told MoCo360. “I live alone when my kids aren’t here. He knows where I live. I was scared he’d just show up.”
By the time she saw Walker’s request, she had already accepted the job at the other school.
Walker said he did not recall inconsistencies in witnesses’ recollections. In addition, he told MoCo360, “Even without the texts, I believed the behavior alleged was sexual harassment, and the staff members deserved better.”
‘The start of all the animosity’
Walker was “shocked and upset” by Simmons’ instruction, and “that was the start of all the animosity towards me” in central office, he told MoCo360. According to an email obtained by MoCo360, Walker sent Simmons the “updated report” on July 12. Walker told MoCo360 that his second draft was subsequently “heavily edited” by Assistant General Counsel Danielle Miller. “I didn’t do a great job with the changes Ms. Simmons ordered because I was upset, so Ms. Miller drafted a significant portion of the second version of the report,” he said.
MoCo360 could not independently verify that Miller was the individual whom the redacted Jackson Lewis report said “provided edits and comments to the July 12, 2023 draft [but] did not request that [redacted] change the finding.” Miller, who is no longer with the district, directed MoCo360’s inquiries to the MCPS office of communications because, she said in an email, “I am unable to respond to your questions due to the Maryland Attorney Rules of Professional Conduct.”
After The Post published an article Aug. 11 about Beidleman’s reported misconduct—which disclosed that Walker had signed a July 26 letter to the social studies teacher stating that Beidleman had not violated sexual harassment policy—Walker said he received negative and threatening communications from readers. Doctors advised that because of his pregnant wife’s increased stress levels, she should deliver early by Cesarean section on Aug. 29, Walker said.
Less than 10 hours after the article published online, MCPS general counsel Stephanie Williams informed Walker in an email obtained by MoCo360 that the school system had “engaged the law firm of Jackson Lewis to conduct an independent investigation.” She informed Walker that “soon,” Jackson Lewis attorneys “will reach out to you for your assistance.”
Williams contacted Walker again on Sunday, Aug. 13, in another email obtained by MoCo360. One of the Jackson Lewis attorneys “will be coming to Rockville tomorrow so meetings will take place at CESC,” she wrote, referring to Carver Educational Services Center, a central office building. “Please let him know what time you are available. Thanks for your assistance in this matter.”
Walker sent Jackson Lewis an email Aug. 14, copied to then-Chief of Staff Brian Stockton, Key, Cram and Williams, stating that he “found Dr. Beidleman engaged in sexual harassment and submitted my findings in a report to Mrs. Simmons.” He also informed Jackson Lewis that Simmons “requested alternative findings regarding Dr. Beidleman,” “the Office of General Counsel provided feedback on the alternative findings” and Miller “significantly re-wrote the alternative findings in the report.”
During his interview with Jackson Lewis, Walker learned that Simmons had backdated the change of finding to June 26, the day before Beidleman’s promotion, he told MoCo360. The Jackson Lewis report stated that the investigation timeline was modified “in violation of MCPS Employee Code of Conduct, which prohibits submitting incorrect or false information to MCPS and requires employees to act honestly in the completion of their job duties.”
On Aug. 15, Walker requested long-term leave. He told MoCo360 he wanted to begin his paternity leave early to care for his wife. Simmons denied his request without explanation, in an email obtained by MoCo360. When Walker appealed to Hull and Key, Hull informed him by email that while the district “cannot approve paternity leave early, we can approve you for other leave.”
‘Clear defiance and persistent insubordination’
Walker took leave but encountered an issue with the district Aug. 31, two days after the birth of his child.
Key’s administrative services manager informed Walker that Key wanted him to turn in his MCPS-issued laptop, according to a contemporaneous email Walker sent to Hull and Key. Walker asked Key why, because, he wrote her, he had “never heard of any other MCPS employee being asked to turn in their laptop while they were on leave after having a baby.” A day later, Key directed him to turn in his laptop “by noon today,” in an email exchange obtained by MoCo360. Walker replied in a follow-up email that he would return the laptop “if you provide the policy that requires me to turn over the equipment while I am on approved leave, as well as document the plan for return and a plan [for] how I am to continue to engage with the Board’s investigation or any subsequent investigation.Otherwise, I must respectfully decline to return my laptop today.”
He hesitated to hand in his laptop before the Jackson Lewis investigation concluded, he told MoCo360, because he feared that MCPS would “plant something on my computer.”
Key responded in a Sept. 1 email obtained by MoCo360, “Per Regulation EDC-RA, I have the custodianship of and responsibility for all property in the Office of Human Resources and Development. You are on leave and have the following options: Return the MCPS issued laptop to me at 45 W Gude Drive. Return the MCPS issued laptop to any MCPS school addressed to me. Select the location from which a member of the Security Team can retrieve the MCPS issued laptop from you.”
Key’s email did not otherwise explain what circumstances had prompted the district to demand the laptop’s return.
She added, “Your clear defiance and persistent insubordination will be addressed on the first day you return to work…. I will be your first order of business that day.” When on Sept. 5 Walker asked Key to “please stop contacting me” while he was on leave, she replied, “Your continued defiance, insubordination, and failure to act on a simple directive lead me to believe that you have no intention of returning to MCPS. Return all MCPS issued equipment immediately.” Hull was copied on the email exchange.
Key and Hull’s office both referred questions from MoCo360 to the MCPS communications department, which declined to address the inquiries.
Within the next few days, MCPS disabled Walker’s MCPS username and password, according to screenshots obtained by MoCo360. Because of this move, Walker said he was unable to register his newborn online for health insurance, which led to “unforeseen medical bills.”Walker could have registered his child for health insurance in person or by faxing or emailing a form to the MCPS Employee and Retiree Service Center, according to an MCPS Employee Benefit Plan Enrollment webpage. Walker told MoCo360 that MCPS did not inform him that he could register via fax or email.
After Jackson Lewis presented its findings to the board, Walker emailed Key and Hull Sept. 8 that he would return his laptop that morning. He added, in the email obtained by MoCo360, “It appears after being a witness in the investigation that my access to MCPS’ employee self service, MCPS careers and MCPS email has been removed by you and Mr. Hull. Please restore my access so I can take the important steps to ensure my newborn daughter remains healthy. Also, I have in no way been insubordinate or defiant. I am extremely proud of the work that I have done as a witness in the Board’s investigation.”
‘It appears retaliatory’
On Sept. 27 Key told Walker she was removing him from his DCI coordinator position and transferring him to a coordinator role in another office, Walker said. According to a contemporaneous email obtained by MoCo360 that Walker sent Key and Hull that day memorializing the conversation, “Ms. Key indicated the reason for the transfer was my activities as a witness in the Beidleman investigation and the concerns that I raised regarding the external investigation. I explained I was not in agreement with the transfer, it appears retaliatory and I reminded Ms. Key she failed to address the concerns when they were brought to her.”
When Walker returned from paternity leave Sept. 28, MCPS moved him to the General Counsel’s office, where a district Personnel Action Notice obtained by MoCo360 shows he received a raise of $11,893 as assistant general counsel. According to his Maryland Commission on Civil Rights (MCCR) complaint, the district “retaliated against me by reassigning me to a fictitious Assistant General Counsel position. At that time, I discovered that my reassignment was a fabricated promotion and I requested to be reinstated to my original position as Compliance Coordinator” because, he told MoCo360, he was not permitted to do the work of the job.
On Friday, Oct. 6, a few hours after The Post inquired about Walker’s role as assistant general counsel and MCPS confirmed it, MCPS informed The Post that Walker had been moved to a “special assignment position within the Office of Human Resources and Development” at his prior salary.
According to Walker, Hull called him that evening to tell him not to report to the general counsel’s office the following Monday but didn’t provide specifics about Walker’s job. At 12:39 a.m. Oct. 9, Hull sent an email, obtained by MoCo360, telling Walker to report to Key’s office that day. There, Key’s administrative services manager told Walker to sit in a cubicle in HR, Walker said.
“They didn’t explain to me what I was doing or how long it was going to last. I wasn’t told what my job duties were, my salary, my supervisor, nothing. I thought I was sitting there for a couple days until something died down and then I’d go back,” said Walker, who at press time is still stationed in the cubicle and whose single job responsibility is to handle selected American Disabilities Act requests. “They didn’t meet with me until [Nov. 14] after McKnight came back” from a medical leave.
Walker said MCPS didn’t inform him that he had been “demoted” or that MCPS had rescinded his raise until he received a Personnel Action Notice, obtained by MoCo360, that had been prepared Oct. 16 and that dated his reassignment to administrator on special assignment Oct. 9. The Personnel Action Notice lists the same hours, employment status, pay schedule, grade, step and rate of pay for Walker’s current role as he received in his position as compliance coordinator.
Walker’s MCCR complaint charges that MCPS leadership “has continuously subjected me to retaliatory harassment in the form of, but not limited to refusing to address threatening emails that were sent to me in relation to Washington Post articles, requesting my work laptop, and then restricting me from essential work-related activities.”
The complaint also alleges that Key retaliated against Walker by “removing the majority of my job duties, placing me in an undesirable work location without a professional office, and then severely reducing my wages [by rescinding his raise]. Finally, MCPS continues to retaliate against me by refusing to reinstate me to the Compliance Coordinator position in the Department of Compliance and Investigations. On or about October 16, 2023, Ms. Key admitted to Dr. Christine Handy, president of MCAAP Union, that the reason she would not reinstate me was because I was a witness in their investigation.”
Walker memorialized his subsequent conversation that day with Handy in an Oct. 17 email he sent to Handy, Key, Hull and MCAAP liaison Ryan Forkert. According to Walker’s notes on the conversation, “Dr. Handy reported that she spoke to Ms. Key and Ms. Key indicated she was not willing to return me to the DCI Compliance Coordinator position until the completion of the Montgomery County Office of Inspector General’s investigation (OIG) because I was a witness in the [OIG’s] investigation.”
Following the release of the inspector general’s Dec. 1 Memorandum of Investigation, Walker emailed McKnight and Hull to request his job back. He told MoCo360 at press time that he still has not received a reply.
In response to MoCo360’s questions about Walker, Handy said in an email, “I prefer not to comment on personnel matters that are currently pending litigation.” The social studies teacher filed suit against Beidleman and the Montgomery County Board of Education on Oct. 25 alleging that she suffered discrimination and a hostile work environment. Walker is mentioned briefly in the suit but is not a defendant.
‘It’s happening to me in central office’
On Nov. 14, Walker was summoned to a meeting with Key, Hull and new DCI Acting Director Stacey Ormsby, according to an Outlook calendar invite obtained by MoCo360. Walker alleged to MoCo360 that at that meeting, which was held in Hull’s office, Key told him he was “unprofessional” because he had used the word “obviously” in an email and didn’t include the phrase “pursuant to a conversation” in another.
Key, Hull and Ormsby referred MoCo360’s inquiries about this meeting to the MCPS communications department, which declined to comment.
“They’re doing little things to retaliate against me on a daily basis. It’s happening to me in central office, the person who investigates retaliation. The head of HR is retaliating—what does that say to everybody else in the school system? April Key and Brian Hull are retaliating against me because I found that Dr. Beidleman engaged in sexual harassment and I told the investigators that Michaele Simmons told me to change the report. They don’t want that to come out,” Walker told MoCo360. “This meeting made it clear that nobody can go to MCPS for redress, not [the social studies teacher], nobody. I don’t feel like I can go to MCPS for redress. The only person higher than Brian Hull is Monifa McKnight.”
Walker has requested at least six times to be reinstated in his former job at DCI to no avail, according to emails obtained by MoCo360, including the unanswered Dec. 1 email to McKnight. He said he doesn’t know why MCPS hasn’t cleared his name. Simmons “was getting pushback from me the entire time about this case,” he said. “My name goes out on those letters, but I don’t make the decisions. MCPS has had more than one opportunity to make this known. They’ve known since September 8 that I was actually against it and they just didn’t correct it.”
When Walker met with the social studies teacher about her sexual harassment and workplace bullying allegations in February, he told MoCo360, “I was taken aback by how [teachers] get so impacted by that kind of behavior and the higher ups just didn’t care. They disregarded [her] experience.” Similarly, he said, “What happened with me is an example of how the person who brings the concern forward is seen as the problem, not the person who’s doing the stuff. There’s a very toxic culture with that in MCPS. Please tell [the social studies teacher] I am so sorry about what happened to her.”
MoCo360 reporter Elia Griffin contributed reporting to this article.
Alexandra Robbins, a freelance journalist, is the author of “The Teachers: A Year Inside America’s Most Vulnerable, Important Profession” and other books about education. This reporting was supported by the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Howard G. Buffett Fund for Women Journalists.