Former Teacher Explains How She Got Fired For Her Belief | Jessica Tapia

I was an athlete of a few different sports, and I coached. I had a great relationship and rapport with the school district, with several teachers and administrators there. You went from being a good teacher, a star, to somebody... Yes, to somebody in trouble. This was absolutely not something I could have ever imagined. Thirteen allegations made against me from students. It's my beliefs, my views, my opinions, and I'm just thinking, and what's wrong with this? My guest today is Jessica Tapia, a former high school PE teacher from California. Her story went viral on Instagram after she got fired by Jurupa Unified School District. I was fired for what I believe, not what I did. And what about the school leaders? Are you asking me to lie to parents? And they said yes. That's really completely contradicting of what they ask of us as educators. What really happened to Jessica? And what makes California firing good teachers despite a severe shortage of educators? Let's find out in today's episode. I'm Siamak Khorrami. Welcome to California Insider. Jessica, it's great to have you on. Welcome. Thank you. It's great to be here. You were fired as a teacher from a California school district. Can you tell us your story? What happened? It all started last May. Students found my social media, my Instagram, and I'd like to think that maybe they searched me up to see a picture of my kids or my horse that I talk about, but they ended up finding and they felt a certain way about videos and posts that I had made and started leaving some pretty rude comments and that's when I realized, because that was not normal on my page, and so that's when I realized, uh-oh, like who is this that is so upset? And I realized they were students and I immediately just started blocking and deleting them. I don't want students on, you know, my social media page, especially while they're my current students and, well, they sent them several posts into the school district. So the school district pulled me out of work and said, we need to investigate something that has been brought to our attention. You're being placed on paid administrative leave. And so I said, okay, this was two days before summer break. So I was already about to, you know, go off on break and all of summer went by and I hadn't heard anything. What was your relationship with the school district? I actually attended Harupa Unified School District as a student. I was a straight-A student. I was an athlete of a few different sports. I returned to the district to do my student teaching and I coached. It was, I had a great relationship and rapport with the school district, with several teachers and administrators there. So it was the most bizarre thing to now be in this position where these people who have always admired and respected me and have been very vocal to me about how they feel about me. Now, all of a sudden, because of posts of mine that were sent in by students, their thoughts and opinions on me completely flipped. And so can you take us back to the story, the moments where you got, you got called in by? Yeah. So this is leading to the first meeting, the initial moment of when I was pulled out of my class. A principal walked me up to the office. The assistant superintendent was in a room and he's the one who stated to me, Jessica, I'm so sorry. But something's been brought to our attention. We need to investigate. We need to send you home right now for your safety. And I was like, okay, and grabbed a few belongings and left. And I, I have not returned since, and this was last May. So I really was thinking over summer, you know, it'll blow over, I'll get to return in August. Did they tell you it was because of your posts? They just said, we need to investigate what's been brought to our attention via social media. So when I reached out asking, am I, am I good to return for this new school year that's about to start? They said, no, as we promised, we've been investigating and we need to bring you into the district for a meeting to share your side of the story. So I was like, okay, I mean, I, I was already thinking, what, what do I share about my side of the story? I just, I didn't do anything, you know, students found my, my social media platform and did whatever they want, wanted with that. So in the meeting that I attended with two union representatives, I was presented with a packet that just made my jaw drop, 13 allegations made against me from students. And I immediately, I was freaking out as, as I kind of shared with you earlier. I've always had a great rapport, I'm, I'm very professional in what I do. I was a straight A student of the district. This was absolutely not something I could have ever imagined. Even one allegation being made against me, I could never imagine that happening in my whole teaching career. And I'm looking at 13 and however, as I start reading them, I, I almost get like a, a sense of peace come over me because I realize exactly what's happening. Students found my opinions, views, beliefs via social media, and used those to craft allegations about how I do my job. And so it all, it all began to make sense. But again, to the district, I had, I had done something very, very wrong and serious. And so to start to get into more detail about what was found, there was a specific video that student that seemed to really upset students and it was a video I made. I was shopping in Kohl's and I was seeing all of the different pride and rainbow clothing. And I learned that day that it's now being made for children, toddlers and babies. I mean, a 12 month onesie that says, you know, pride, you know, in rainbow color on it. And I was voicing in my video and in my caption, I think that this is wrong. A three-year-old, a 12-month-old can't understand what, what is meant by this, you know, pride and rainbow symbol. And they airdropped that video around campus to students and, you know, of course they took it as me being hateful, transphobic, homophobic, which is absolutely not true. And from there, seemed to really just continue hunting through my page with, to find anything else that they didn't align with or agree with. And so along with that, the district presented me several screenshots of my posts that were Bible verses, just quotes about the Bible, quotes about morality and character. And truly I was sitting there so confused because I'm looking at my own posts that I've made, you know, about my beliefs, my views, my opinions. And I'm just thinking, and what's wrong with this? Do I not have the freedom to, to voice this and, you know, stand for what I believe in? And so in that first meeting, I responded to all of the allegations that were made against me. Several of them were not even legitimate allegations. That is something that my union reps reiterated to the district. That is not an allegation. After responding and sharing my, my side of the story in that first meeting, they continued to have me off on paid administrative leave, deciding what to do next. So was the allegations saying that you would treat trans or homosexuals differently or not, not well in your class? Was that, was it going towards that? So somewhat. So there was one allegation that stated I was not calling students by their preferred pronouns. This is where it gets so interesting. I never had a student come to me and say, Mrs. Tapia, I would like you to now call me this. Never. So in the end, without jumping to the end, but overall looking at my, my story, I was fired and my lawyers have reiterated the same thing. I was fired based on hypothetical situations, how I would hypothetically handle a situation. I was fired for what I believe, not what I did. And would you treat these kids differently if somebody came to you and said they're trans or they are homosexual? Would you? Of course not. I mean, if anything, I would feel more love and compassion towards, you know, a young child who I know, you know, their brain is still developing. It's so hard being a teenager. I remember I'm going to have more sympathy, more compassion, more love towards a student of mine that comes to me with, with any sort of, you know, confusion about identity. Because something that I have always loved and been excited about as my role as a teacher is helping students find their purpose and find who they are, because really that is kind of what life becomes in that, that, that phase of being a teenager, you kind of looking to the future, figuring out who you are, what do you want to do with your life? That's when children really, really need good, solid, you know, role models and guidance and, and teaching and, and morals to help, you know, guide them into their calling and their purpose. And so, I mean, yeah, the answer is no, I, I make, I've always made sure to treat all of my students, you know, equally and, you know, it would, it would, I know as a, I always put myself in their shoes, right, and it would break my heart, you know, to ever, if I was ever treated differently and sometimes I was as a student because I was, I was called, you know, a nerd and a teacher's pet because teachers always, like, picked on me and read my work and stuff and I was just like, oh gosh, I feel like I'm put on the spot. And so, you know, even though that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, I, you know, a student doesn't like to be, you know, put on the spot or, or felt to be being treated differently than others. And, you know, I remember those things and, and put them into play in my practice. Continue the story. So you were telling us. So then what happened? Okay. So a month or so went by after the first meeting, I was called back in for a second meeting end of September. And at the second meeting, it was hard. That's where the district voiced to me, basically their changed opinion about me, disappointed in you, you know, what you've done is very serious. You're lucky we're letting you come back to work. You're lucky to still have your job. And if you make one more mistake along these lines, you're done. And I'm just, you know, sitting there hearing this and, you know, they're basically voicing to me, we're allowing you to come back, but here's the plan. And I was presented one with a letter of misconduct and then to a plan of assistance and directives. And that's where I just felt a turning happening in my soul because essentially as they read out these directives and expectations they had for me, it was like one by one, I felt my rights and freedoms just being ripped from me. And I was imagining myself returning to work under their plan. And I would have been a zombie. So one of the directives, there were several directives. There were a few that I was completely not in line with and would end up voicing to them that I wouldn't comply with. And I'll get to that. So how did you feel in this process? So it seems like you went from being a good teacher, a star, to somebody. What was it like? It felt really awful. I mean, it took an emotional, mental toll on me, which is why I ended up going off on stress leave from work after this, the second meeting, because I had to try to figure out how to navigate this. My job was on the line. My salary, that provides for my family. And I knew that a huge decision lay before me. And I wanted to, I've always been someone who wants to do right. And I wanted to make the right decision in this situation that I was in with work. So at the second meeting, they went over these directives with me. And again, as I'm hearing them, I'm starting to realize I can't return to work under some of these directives. And so one of them was that I had to call students by whatever preferred pronoun or gender that they want. And this was not in writing at the time. But when they explained that one to me, they said, also, you need to keep that from parents. If a student comes to you with a preference, you need to withhold that from parents. And again, it's just getting worse and worse for me as I'm sitting in the meeting. The more I hear, the more I'm like, I'm feeling like I don't belong in public education anymore if these are really policies that I'm being required to uphold. And so I looked them in the eye and I said, are you asking me to lie to parents? And they said, yes, it's the law and it's for the student's privacy. And I sat back in my chair and I just said, I can't believe this. I'm a parent myself of three little ones. I would be mortified to find out that anyone who was supposed to be caring for my child was purposely withholding very pertinent information about their well-being from me. And that's exactly the situation that I was being asked to be put in and follow. And what's so interesting, too, is that's really completely contradicting of what they ask of us as educators. You can find it on the website. They ask us to uphold honesty. And so I learned in that moment, OK, it's situational. How do we keep up with that as teachers? Our job is stressful enough. We have so much on our plates as is. And now they want us to not make any mistakes around a student's preferred pronoun or gender and keep certain information from parents and determine if a student is a biological male is appearing and voicing that they're female enough for me to allow into the girl's locker room. And so again, I'm sitting here, and I'm hearing all these directives. And I'm feeling like, how can I possibly uphold these directives? So I took that plan of assistance and directives. And mind you, they were going to be sending me back with 45 days where I was going to be closely watched for change of behavior. Again, another thing where I was like, I don't know how to change my behavior. I've been the same teacher all along. It's only now an issue who I am as a teacher, now that my beliefs have been found out about. You're not going to see change of behavior from me. I've been behaving perfectly fine as a teacher all along. I have astounding evaluations and reference letters from principals and administration and fellow teachers. And so again, I'm just sitting in that meeting feeling like, how do I appease them here? And so I was expected to return that Monday. And they were also asking that when I return, I have special meetings with counselors and administration to make sure I have all of my students' genders and pronouns correct so that I'm not making any mistakes. And again, another feeling is coming about. And I'm thinking, are all the other teachers having to do this? Are all the other teachers having special meetings to make sure that they're getting their students' genders and pronouns correct? Or is this just me? Because I feel like this is just me, and I'm feeling very alienated. There was no students in your class. Was there any students that... So the district told me in that meeting, and again, I was never aware of this, P.E. classes are large, a little bit chaotic. You know, as P.E. teachers, we work outside. We don't have walls. There's several other P.E. classes around us. It's a fun mess half the time. But in that second meeting, the district told me that I did have one transgender student in one of my classes. Again, I never knew that. I was always going off the roster that they provide me, calling students by the names they provide me and the gender, looking at them as the gender that they've provided me and that my discernment upon looking at them tells me they are. And so that's what was really interesting. Is it easy to remember everybody's name and everybody who is... I can barely remember names. I have, you know, close to 200 students, and they don't wear... I mean, most of them do not dress out in P.E. clothes, which, you know, have several purposes. And one of them is to be able to put, you know, student name on the clothing and, you know, help out teachers and peers to know who you are. I mean, but I'm lucky to get a handful of students dressing out. And so, yeah, the job is very hard already, as is. And so I chose after that second meeting, learning all the expectations. I need to take some time. I'm very stressed out about all of this. And I went off on stress leave for, I think it was about three months. And I knew that around the end of December, like, I have sought counsel on this. I've prayed about it. And I've thought about my options. Interestingly enough, one option I thought greatly upon was resigning, you know, because again, everything I was learning, I was feeling like maybe I don't fit into public education anymore, you know, if these policies are so, you know, counter to what I believe. And so I had half a letter written. I could just never seem to finish it. I have three little ones at home. So it's very hard to, like, sit at the computer and type out an essay. And my mother-in-law told me one day when I was beginning to get very stressed out, because at that point, I had wanted to just have the letter done and sent off to the district by then. But she said, Jess, there's a reason it's not finished. Just trust. I said, OK. And I felt I had a very, again, I continued praying, you know, I always want to do the right thing and make the right decision in life. And I felt I had a very clear answer as to what I was to do next. And it was not resign. The Old Country soaps are handcrafted and long-lasting soap bars made on a farm in South Dakota with soothing natural ingredients without harsh chemicals that can dry out your skin. They can produce a creamy lather unlike anything you've tried before. Just a great American-made product that will leave your skin feeling soft and smooth all day long. The soap is multi-purpose. You can also use it for your hair. It's great for shaving and safe for pets. Every order comes with an exfoliating soap bag. 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I was greatly impacted by teachers, especially coaches, being an athlete. And mind you, I didn't have a great childhood. Really school was so important to me. And I think because as a child, it was one of the only things I could control. I grew up half my childhood in a home with drug addiction and abuse. And so I knew that. And thankfully, I was rescued out of that by my grandmother. And she really taught me and instilled my morals and beliefs and values in me and helped me heal from a lot of awful things I went through as a child. But again, that was another huge reason. I felt I could go into public education as, you know, a teacher with a lot of experience and relatability to a lot of my students, you know. And it's funny because I have had a lot of co-workers just look at me and assume that I came from, you know, this wonderful life and family and mother and father. And that's absolutely furthest from the truth. I actually never even met my dad until I was 18 years old. And I found him on my own through researching. And so, yeah, a lot of reasons, a lot of reasons I went into public education to make an impact, to be a light in children's lives who I knew possibly were coming from, you know, bad situations and poor upbringings similar to what I had experienced. And so I was just, you know, excited to be that light and love to whoever, you know, was placed in my care, you know, as a teacher. And then what happened? So you were writing the letter? Yes. And again, I had to trust there's a reason I'm not able to finish this resignation letter. Maybe that's not the right choice in this. And so, again, I felt like after being very stressed out about the letter, I got clarity. That's because it's not what you're supposed to do. You need to voice to your district, you're ready to come back to work, but you will not comply with some of the directives they're giving you. And, you know, just stand in your beliefs. So what was the directives? Don't post on social media anymore? They asked one that I would make it private, and I had done that, and that's fine. I was willing to do that. But the firm directives that I voiced to them, I, you know, was unwilling to comply with, was calling students by their preferred gender pronouns. Another one that they directed me to do is completely refrain from speaking to students about God or the Bible, which I had told the district, I don't just go up to students and do that, but students come up to me and ask questions about that. And what I believe is that I should always be ready with an answer for the hope that I have. That's part of my beliefs. And so when students come to me with a question and they have, Mrs. Tapia, like, what Bible verse do you have memorized? And I'll say one off the top of my head, I'm allowed to do that. I remember learning in college that how to, you know, legally and carefully bring your faith in, of course, without being persuasive or coercing, it can be from an educational standpoint. And so I let the district know, you know, how I go about that. And so that was the second directive that I ended up voicing to them. I will not completely refrain again, because if a student comes to me with a question, it's my duty to give an answer and to educate, right? And so the third one, that was the lying to parents. I said, I will not lie to parents. If a student comes to me about, you know, a gender identity, I'm not going to purposefully keep that information from parents. So upon emailing the district, letting them know I'm ready to come back to work, here's the three directives that I will not comply with because they're against my beliefs. They responded and said, thank you for letting us know. We are going to set up a religious accommodation meeting to see if and how we can accommodate your religious beliefs. And it's so interesting too, because I've had so many, I'm not kidding, thousands of people say, this isn't a religious belief. The things that you were unwilling to do is should and are common sense. And, you know, I try not to, you know, get into that argument. But, you know, for me personally, I draw my common sense from my beliefs and from, you know, my Christian views. So going into that third meeting, now this is the third and final meeting with the district. They, the district's attorney had several pages of questions for me all around my religion, Christianity. Where do you go to church? Who's the pastor? What do you read? How often do you go? You know, really like digging, I'm guessing to see how legitimate I am in my beliefs. And it felt really crazy. I never imagined going through something like that. Did you pass? I was hoping, but I guess not. At the end of that meeting, after they asked all the questions possible, you know, why doesn't your faith allow you to call students by whatever they want to be called by? Why doesn't your faith allow you to withhold this information from their parents? And I feel like I'm answering questions again that should be common sense, but I'm having to break it down to these higher ups of mine. And at the end of it, they go, is there anything else we need to know about that you cannot do in your position because of your faith? And I said, yes, there is. I'm in a unique position. I'm a PE teacher. I oversee a locker room. And I had already known if they're wanting me to do the, you know, the preferred pronoun gender thing, I'm thinking in my head, they're gonna, they're probably gonna want me to let, you know, transgender students into the locker room. So I went ahead and let them know then and there, I will not be allowing biological males into the female locker room. And they said, we have a whole other issue then, because you have to. That would be discrimination if you didn't. And I just couldn't believe it. There's, there's two males, fathers sitting in this meeting that even sat back because they have daughters and they imagined what that would be like for their daughters, you know, having a biological male entering their private space where they change their clothes. And even they put their heads down in that meeting. And I'm just sitting there thinking, when did things get so bad? Where do we draw the line? Because it doesn't seem like there is a line. It doesn't seem like anyone's caring to draw one. We're just going to continue to spiral if, if this is what we're allowing. What's next? Do you think you are responsible for this locker room? Anything happens in there? Yes. Yeah. Hearing that, I'm thinking, okay, they, they're, they potentially want me to be in a position where I mean, there could be a lawsuit against me, right? If something happens in that locker room, you know, between students, especially, especially students of, you know, the opposite biological sex. And I'm just thinking, if they're not going to draw the line, I am, because I'm not going to allow myself just for the sake of, of, you know, obeying their policies. I'm not going to allow myself to be put in a position where I could really end up in some serious trouble. One. And two, you know, I'm always thinking about the parents of these children, you know, because these are my students. They're not my children. And I have children of my own. You know, I always look at my students and I think of their parents, you know, and so I'm, I'm thinking of this situation from a parent's point of view too, you know, how would parents feel knowing that there's potentially biological males now being allowed to enter their daughter's private changing space at school? And what about the school leaders that you had a good relationship with them before this happened? And do you think they, did they have any sympathy toward you? I felt that maybe internally they did, but for the sake of their job and their pension, they couldn't show it. They wanted, they chose, you know, and are choosing to be just, you know, compliant and obedient to these policies and Ed codes and, you know, not, not risk it, not risk it by showing, you know, sympathy or understanding towards my beliefs, which again, I, I still wonder and think possibly are many of their beliefs too, but again, they're choosing to just kind of hide those away and not risk their, their livelihood and, and job like I did. So do you think here in this scenario, kind of the students took over the school and like made the teachers and administrators do what they think it's right? That is exactly what it felt like. That's exactly what it felt like. All students had to do was, you know, send a few screenshots into the school district, let the school district know, we feel this way, we feel upset. We feel discriminated against because of her beliefs. We feel she shouldn't be, get to be a teacher with her beliefs. And so here you go, do something about it. And so immediately it seemed the district was felt pressured to do something about it and immediately sided with the students feelings. And it's mind boggling to think about that students now seem to have that much power. I guess you can say, I, again, I look back to when I was a student in high school, one, I don't think me or any of my friends would have dared to even try to, you know, find a teacher on social media, more or less, you know, start recording and screen, screenshotting their posts and send them into the district and craft claims about who they are, false claims. And so it's just, yeah, it's, it's wild to see where we are now. Do teachers, do the rest of teachers, when they look at your story, do you guys feel afraid of saying or thinking and talking or getting it wrong? I really think that most educators feel that way. Yes. But with my story coming out, I have had hundreds come to me and message me and say, I'm a teacher. I stand with you. You know, your, you, you know, voicing your beliefs and standing in them makes me feel like I can do that now too. And I will die on this hill with you. And it's, it's been, you know, really cool to see that my story can be an inspiration for other educators, you know, to, to uphold honesty and uphold truth and uphold what's good for all students. And, but I still think when it comes down to it, right, you know, that moment where you have to make a decision and put your career on the line, like I did, you know, are enough teachers going to be willing to do that, to make actual necessary change in public education? You know, I don't know. I sure hope so. Because like I said, there's no line drawn and things are going to get worse. So you had 10 year and this was a good source of income for you and your family. Was it difficult to go through this process? Yes, very difficult. And that's why I was very close to resigning. Even my husband was like, write the letter, let's get this over with. You know, he saw how detrimental it was on me. But again, I, I don't want to make it seem so, so awful because looking, of course, you know, we look back in retrospect at, you know, hard things that we've gone through and I do see how it greatly grew my faith. And now I'm seeing my story impact thousands of people. And so, you know, again, I'm, I'm glad that I, I, I chose to obey God and trust God in this and not just bow down to policies that were not in line with my beliefs. You know, because if I had done that, then God wouldn't be able to be using my story in the way he is today. And I, I know that he's calling me to something, you know, bigger and greater. And this is kind of the next step towards that. But at the same time, my salary did greatly provide for my family. So we're really living on faith right now. You know, but again, God is good and he provides, you know, right when we're just like, oh gosh, how are we going to get through this bill or this month or this mortgage? Something miraculously shows up. And so, yeah, it's, I don't think I've ever lived so much in faith as right now. Do you have any other thoughts for our audience? My biggest message, I think in my story and what I've gone through is, I think it's so easy for people, all of us to be controlled by fear. And fear just plays such a huge role in our, our life decisions. And I think we just need to check our fear. We need to be more in check of our fear. You know, I, in, in my Christian faith, it tells us several times, I think one time for every day of the year, do not fear, do not fear, do not fear. But when it does say to fear or what it does say to fear is, is God, you know? And so I, that's been my biggest message to people. Don't, don't let fear dictate your, your decisions and make you feel like you have to ditch your beliefs and your morals and your values because you're feeling, you know, fearful of man or fearful of losing your job. Every, you know, everything we go through, if we stay true to ourselves and our beliefs and what we know to be good, right, and true, even if it's a awful situation, like what I've gone through, it's just the next step in, in, you know, finding our purpose and getting closer to, you know, the next great thing, you know, that's in store for us. Jessica Tapia, former California public school teacher. It was great to have you on California Insider. Thank you. It's so nice to be here. 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