A San Gabriel Unified School District teacher’s aide claims she was suspended without pay for bringing a “Trump-themed” backpack and water bottle to campus.
In a lawsuit filed in federal court last week, Alyssa Esquivel claims district officials violated her free speech rights and state labor protections when they disciplined her for carrying personal items that referenced the former president. Constitutional rights.
She had been on paid leave for nearly a year until the district suspended her without pay in April and gave her notice that they intended to fire her, according to her complaint.
police officer. James Simmonds, one of the defendants in Esquivel’s lawsuit, declined to comment Friday night. But in objecting to Esquivel bringing the items onto campus, officials cited a district policy that states employees may not wear “buttons or objects.”[s] Clothing in support of political candidates during teaching hours”.
Esquivel, an American Sign Language instructional assistant who works with deaf students, said in the complaint that the problem began in June 2023, when another assistant moved Esquivel to post a picture of Donald Trump and Rona De Regan put a sticker on a water bottle and said she “didn’t want Trump to look” at her.
Esquivel’s attorneys, from Faith and Freedom Advocates in Murrieta, submitted a photo of the water bottle in court documents. One sticker features a smiling Trump and reads, “Miss me?”
The next day, Esquivel claimed, the aide overturned the table and yelled that Esquivel was trying to “taunt” her by bringing the water bottle to school again. This allegedly prompted her to meet with the principal, teacher Esquivel and two other aides, who confirmed that Esquivel could continue to bring water bottles to school, she claimed.
However, other aides allegedly refused to work with Esquivel, to the detriment of deaf students who could not understand the instruction, she claimed. That month, she filed a formal discrimination complaint with the school district.
Then there’s the backpack.
Esquivel was carrying a unique backpack with an American flag pattern on it and the letters “Trump” on the front. Esquivel claims this got the attention of the principal, who told her to stop bringing backpacks or water bottles to campus. The principal also allegedly scolded her for wearing “American flag-themed jewelry.”
She claims that during a meeting the next day, ostensibly to discuss whether Esquivel should be allowed to wear a backpack, the principal “detained” her for three hours while “intermittently prioritizing issues that had nothing to do with backpacks or water bottles.” Other matters”. Based on her complaint, the principal found a solution: Esquivel could have the backpack and water bottle on campus, but not “display” them.
After Esquivel continued to carry the backpack and water bottle, a district official told her she could not wear “political attire” on campus, the complaint said. Esquivel said she covered the last two letters on her backpack, which now reads “TRU,” and returned to school with it.
Her complaint alleges that district officials threatened “fines and jail time,” banned her from campus and placed her on paid leave. Esquivel claimed police escorted her off campus.
Lawyers representing Esquivel and her employer exchanged letters over the next year, arguing whether either party violated district regulations, California employment regulations or federal laws governing protected speech. In April, the school district’s board agreed to suspend Esquivel without pay and sought to fire her, based on Esquivel’s complaint.
Esquivel is seeking a formal hearing with school district officials to discuss whether she violated district policy, damages, attorney’s fees, whether the district admits it violated her First Amendment rights, and a permanent injunction allowing her to carry a backpack and water .
