A former William H. Farquhar Middle School teacher has settled a lawsuit against the Montgomery County Board of Education and Joel Beidleman, a former principal at the Olney school, the teacher’s attorney said Friday.
The teacher, identified as Jane Doe in the suit, will receive a $300,000 settlement, presumably from the school board, Rockville attorney Jerry Hyatt said in a phone interview.
“My client is happy to reach a settlement agreement with the Defendants in this litigation,” Hyatt wrote in an emailed statement to MoCo360. “She is relieved to come to a resolution and believes that the settlement recognizes the hardships she was forced to endure over multiple years.”
He said the teacher declined to be interviewed because she remains employed by Montgomery County Public Schools.
In late October, the teacher filed a lawsuit alleging she suffered discrimination and a hostile work environment while working under Beidleman while he was the principal at Farquhar.
The 20-page-long complaint details a myriad of incidents in which Beidleman allegedly sexually harassed her at school and outside of school, intimidated her, made “uncomfortable” and embarrassing comments and put her job in jeopardy as retaliation for ignoring his sexual advances.
The lawsuit was filed after The Washington Post published a report in August 2023 that detailed years of alleged misconduct from Beidleman and inaction from MCPS officials in charge of investigating complaints about staff.
Before the news report was published, Beidleman was promoted that summer to principal of Paint Branch High School in Burtonsville. Beidleman is no longer employed by MCPS.
Following the aftermath of the Beidleman scandal, MCPS has struggled to repair its reputation and restore the trust of the school community and local elected officials. The scandal led to the Feb. 2 resignation of MCPS Superintendent Monifa McKnight, who attempted to set forth a corrective action plan that would put the MCPS on the path towards rectification and strengthening its investigations unit.
The district has since launched a Correction Action Progress Report webpage that outlines the status of steps MCPS is taking following an investigation by the Montgomery County Office of the Inspector General.
In March the school board proposed a new policy that aims to strengthen its oversight of appointing school leaders such as principals and superintendents.
In his email, Hyatt wrote the teacher “feels vindicated by the terms of the settlement” and hopes the new policy changes enacted by MCPS to strengthen its investigations of misconduct claims “will prevent future teachers and staff from having to suffer what she went through.”
Responding to a MoCo360 request for comment, MCPS spokesperson Liliana Lopez wrote in a Friday email that the district doesn’t “discuss legal personnel matters, so we are not able to comment on this.”
School board communication coordinator Christie Scott said the board “cannot discuss legal personnel matters such as this.”
Attorneys for Beidleman, Diane E. Feuerherd and Donna E. McBride of the Rockville-based Miller, Miller & Canby law firm, did not immediately respond to MoCo360’s request for comment due to their offices closing early Friday for the Memorial Day holiday.