Teacher who was investigated for the book “Gender Queer” resigns

A Great Barrington middle school teacher who filed a lawsuit in federal court last month after police searched her classroom for LGBTQ+ memorabilia has quit her job, saying the school district was “not a safe place for her to teach.”

Arantzazú Zuzene Galdós-Shapiro submitted her letter of resignation, which was received by The Berkshire EagleJune 10. Her resignation took effect June 14, according to a Great Barrington personnel report.

Galdós-Shapiro, who identifies as a queer Mexican woman, filed a complaint against the city of Great Barrington, the Berkshire Hills Regional School District and its superintendent, and two city police officers on May 14. The lawsuit alleges the defendants violated several of Galdós-Shapiro’s constitutional rights when a plainclothes police officer searched her classroom for the book “Gender Queer: A Memoir.”

“I have to take care of my health, which has suffered greatly due to these conditions and the violations of my rights,” Galdós-Shapiro wrote in her resignation letter. “I do not believe that my health will improve if I live daily with the stressors constantly imposed here, especially without hope of a meaningful change in the near future.”

School officials apologized after police searched a classroom

Before her resignation, Galdós-Shapiro was an English teacher at Du Bois Regional Middle School. Since her classroom was searched in December of last year, Galdós-Shapiro has been on an extended leave of absence from teaching.

The search was prompted by a complaint to Great Barrington police about inappropriate illustrations in the book. Police sent a plainclothes officer to the school, but he was unable to find the memoir in Galdós-Shapiro’s classroom.

The raid sparked a strong reaction in the community, and the district’s school board and other school officials apologized for their handling of the incident. Governor Maura Healey also commented on the situation, saying that “a ban on books has no place in Massachusetts.”

“Gender Queer” has become the target of book bans across the country; the Associated Press reported that it is the most-banned book in the country in 2021 and 2022.

The book, written by Maia Kobabe, is a graphic biography detailing the author and cartoonist’s journey to her sexual and gender identity. It is not banned in the school district, but is not part of the school’s curriculum, Miles Wheat, principal of WEB Du Bois Regional Middle School, previously told Boston.com.

Galdós-Shapiro actually had the book in her classroom as part of a class collection and students could borrow it from her. However, according to the lawsuit, only one student had done so.

According to the lawsuit, the teacher was “afraid” and felt threatened after the search

Galdós-Shapiro claims in the lawsuit that an “angry” janitor informed police that “Gender Queer” contained inappropriate content. The janitor had previously been disciplined by the district for homophobic and racist comments, according to the court filing.

The janitor also reported to police that Galdós-Shapiro allowed students to sit on her lap and told them to keep certain conversations secret from their parents, the complaint states. Great Barrington police dismissed those allegations as “non-investigative” because they were not credible before her classroom was searched, court documents show.

Police did not release the name of the person who ordered the search, “even though Ms. Galdós-Shapiro and the faculty and students were afraid, felt threatened and deeply concerned for their safety at school,” the lawsuit states.

“The unjustified criminal investigation and interrogation to which they subjected Ms. Galdós-Shapiro and the resulting consequences, including the defendants’ decision to publish the baseless, false and defamatory allegations against Ms. Galdós-Shapiro – including the claim that she is essentially a pedophile – have left her devastated and deeply shaken, sick, distressed and afraid, her reputation publicly destroyed,” the court filing continued.

“Looking for a better future elsewhere”

In her resignation letter, Galdós-Shapiro says that her realization that the school district was not “safe” for her was “very painful” but that she will “look for a better future elsewhere.” According to the letter, she has taught at the school for six years.

“I wish the district luck in its much-needed growth so that current and future educators and students, especially those from marginalized communities or those who advocate for them, receive better care and do not have to experience what I experienced,” Galdós-Shapiro wrote.

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