Christian mom says she was blocked from substitute teaching over her faith

A conservative Christian mother of five who narrowly lost a contentious school board election in Virginia that involved transgender issues nonetheless decided she would apply to be a substitute teacher. After the school district ran a background check, approved her, and assigned her to a class, the school board denied her employment, and she suspects it did so for ideological and religious reasons.

“I was absolutely shocked when the school board violated its own policy by taking action in closed session to strike my name from the personnel list before coming out in open session to vote,” Lindsay Rich, the former candidate, told The Daily Signal on Monday.

Rich, 40, has three daughters currently in southwestern Virginia’s Montgomery County Public Schools in the area around Blacksburg, the city where Virginia Polytechnic and State University (commonly known as Virginia Tech) is located. Last November, she lost the Montgomery County School Board race to represent District E by a narrow margin. Derek Rountree, her former opponent, now sits on the school board.

“I believe the school board members removed me [as a substitute teacher] for the same reason many attacked me during my campaign,” Rich said.

During Rich’s campaign, a Virginia Tech official responsible for DEI—diversity, equity, and inclusion—attacked her and a fellow school board candidate for supporting “Model Policies on Ensuring Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for All Students” championed by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican.

These policies require parental involvement in any school encouragement of a child’s transgender identity and designate bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports teams by biological sex rather than claimed gender identity. Montgomery County’s school board previously adopted pro-transgender standards developed under Youngkin’s Democratic predecessor, Gov. Ralph Northam.

“I support Governor Youngkin’s commonsense policies that base bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports on biological sex—not gender identity—which is also tied to my religious beliefs that God created male and female,” Rich told The Daily Signal.

“I have sat at the last two [school board] meetings until close to midnight waiting on an explanation and will continue to do so until I get answers,” Rich added in a text. “I won’t be pushed out of my children’s schools; they say there is room for ALL in MCPS, which includes conservative Christians like me.”

Lindsay Rich’s Approval

Rich said she took a training course Sept. 11 and received an assignment to teach Sept. 19. She forwarded emails to The Daily Signal showing that Montgomery County Public Schools had given her access to the online portal and had put her on the schedule to teach.

On Sept. 11, after Rich had taken the substitute teacher training, Dawn LaPuasa, MCPS supervisor of personnel, sent an email to Superintendent Bernard Bragen with a list of substitute teachers for the school board to approve. The list, intended for a Sept. 17 board meeting, gave Rich and the other substitutes an “effective date” that coincided with their training.

Yet on Sept. 17, the school board approved a list of substitute teachers that did not include Rich’s name.

Rich and her supporters say that the school board altered the list during a closed session to discuss personnel, part of the board meeting that is not public.

Daniel Rich, the would-be substitute teacher’s husband, filed a request for information under Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act and obtained an email that shows Bragen, the superintendent of schools, took a personal interest in Rich’s employment.

On Sunday, Sept. 15, two days before the meeting, Bragen reached out to Amanda Weidner, director of human resources at MCPS.

“Is the Lindsay Rich on the personnel agenda for a substitute the same person who ran for the school board?” Bragen asked. Weidner confirmed that it was indeed her.

“Let’s review it tomorrow,” Bragen responded. “That is presenting a problem that we may need the attorney to discuss.”

The school board members didn’t respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment by publication time. MCPS declined to comment on the situation, saying that it is a personnel matter.

The Public Speaks Out

Rich’s family and many others attended the school board’s Oct. 1 meeting to voice their support for the former candidate and their opposition to the board’s move.

Susanna Rich, a sixth grader at Blacksburg Middle School, accused the school board of violating the First Amendment.

“You guys went against the freedom of religion by saying that because of my mom’s political and Christian beliefs, you will not approve her to be a sub,” Susanna said. “My mom would never try to push her religion on others.”

“At school, there is a policy against bullying,” she added. “Well, you’re bullying my mom.”

Rich and her supporters repeatedly mentioned the shortage of teachers across Virginia, and the fact that the MCPS website appears to show many open teaching positions. According to the Virginia Legislature’s Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, school districts reported having 4,104 vacant teaching positions at the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year.

MCPS’ website lists 33 open teaching positions on its job application portal.

“If we have a shortage of substitute teachers, I would like the county to put out a statement and say which qualifications Miss Rich did not meet,” resident Zachary Kemp said at the Oct. 1 school board meeting.

Carola Haas, a professor at Virginia Tech’s Department of Fish & Wildlife Conservation, accused Rich of propping up a “stunt.”

“Several friends of a political candidate claim to have personal knowledge of events at a closed meeting, and spread the rumor that they and their friend are being persecuted for their religious beliefs,” Haas said. “Because a certain party is trying to defund public education and send our tax dollars to private interests, they seem to need to dramatize stories of their personal employment issues in order to motivate their base to the polls.”

Others vouched for Rich, calling her desire to teach in the schools genuine.

“I have known Lindsay for about 16 years. She not only meets your current certification requirements, but is an excellent mother of five children; along with her many volunteer efforts to engage as a parent in MCPS, she would be an excellent substitute teacher choice,” resident Kimberly Williamson said. “I think the way this board handled Lindsay’s application was quite cowardly.”