The superintendent of a Colorado Springs district has recommended firing a popular elementary school teacher for alleged insubordination, a move that her supporters say is retaliation for expressing opinions on her private social media page about the district’s curriculum policies.
“I'm recommending to the Board of Education that Dr. Angelica Givler-Viers, a teacher at McAuliffe Elementary School, be dismissed from her employment with the district on the statutory grounds of insubordination, neglect of duty, and/or other good and just cause,” said Superintendent Michael Gaal at a Wednesday night board meeting.
He provided no further details.
The issue has ratcheted up tensions between teachers and the district, which voted to end a collective bargaining agreement a year ago that had guided working conditions, salaries and benefits for 56 years.
The board of education went into executive session for legal advice on the matter but took no action once the public meeting resumed. Board president Parth Melpaka said the district intends to follow the process outlined by the Colorado law on teacher dismissals. The board could vote on the matter at a special meeting next Wednesday.
Givler-Viers, whose social media page has 18,000 followers, has been a vocal champion of students' learning and teacher rights and has opposed book bans. Nearly 250 teachers, parents and community members rallied Wednesday night outside of the school district’s administration building in an effort to “free Dr. G.”
Walked out of her classroom
On Oct. 5, Givler-Viers was walked out of her classroom, told not to speak with her colleagues, parents and students and told not to step on district property. She was given no charge – they said they would try to find one, according to local teacher’s union officials. That action happened the week before a one-day teacher strike, something Givler-Viers had posted about in the days leading up to the strike. Givler-Viers was placed on paid administrative leave.
On Nov. 21, she received a letter recommending termination. The letter alleged unprofessional conduct on social media and a violation of her paid administrative leave. It also alleged she didn’t answer questions truthfully during an internal investigation, according to a union official.
At Wednesday’s board meeting, several community members and parents spoke in support of Givler-Viers, a literacy specialist.
“Dr. Givler-Viers is an exceptional educator, one with deep expertise and a proven commitment to students,” said Joseph Shelton. “Her true offense was not misconduct. It was expressing viewpoints district leadership dislikes….Superintendent Gaal, your actions send a message to every educator: Comply with the district's narrative or risk being silenced or removed.”
He alleged that since the day of the strike, several teachers have faced discipline under “vague claims of policy violations.”
Amanda Brown, a mother of a fifth-grader in Givler-Viers’ classroom, said it was traumatic for the children to witness their teacher being taken away and not returning.
“This was terrifying in the moment,” she said. “This remains terrifying tonight. The fear and apprehension my child has experienced since this event is immeasurable. She's in a state of anxiety every day. She greets each Monday with a ‘maybe this will be the week that Dr. Givler comes back to us.’”
She asked the board to prioritize student safety and well-being and return Givler-Viers to her classroom.
Givler-Viers has also posted against book bans and censorship in curriculum. In a special board meeting last month, the board voted on a policy that would allow them to ban.
Books and earlier the district ordered that pages related to LGBTQ issues be ripped out of health textbooks.
“A terrible precedent is being set here,” said Colorado Springs Education Association President Kevin Coughlin. “If a highly respected and much-loved teacher like Angel.
“Givler-Viers, or ‘Dr. G,’ can’t question curriculum choices or discuss teacher union issues on her own time with colleagues, we can no longer function as teaching professionals,” he said. “The school board may try to suppress speech and inhibit the discussion of curriculum matters by making an example out of Dr. G, but we’re going to fight this every way we know how. This battle is far from over.”
Suppressing teachers’ free speech unconstitutional
In 2023, the Woodland Park School District northwest of Colorado Springs, tried to ban teachers from speaking to journalists or on social media about district matters without the superintendent’s prior approval. The state teachers union and its local affiliate filed a federal lawsuit alleging the district and board have “chilled teachers’ First Amendment rights to free speech and association.
After a district judge suggested the constitutional claims had merit, a federal-court mediated agreement forced the district to replace the policy, allowing teachers and other employees to speak freely on matters of public concern without fear of retaliation.
The new policy struck the prohibition on teachers and a statement that the violation of those policies is insubordination.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit has twice found such restrictions on public school employees’ speech unconstitutional.
