Joe Acanfora - Proceedings in The U.S. District Court in Maryland

Proceedings in The U.S. District Court in Maryland

On November 7, 1972, Acanfora instituted a lawsuit against the Board of Education, the Superintendent (Dr. Elseroad), and the Deputy Superintendent (Dr. Miedema), under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. The complaint alleged that:

1. Acanfora had been transferred for constitutionally impermissible reasons, and
2. he had been denied procedural due process.

An extensive trial ensued in the federal District court in Baltimore, Maryland.

Much of the trial was devoted to eliciting the facts outlined above. Acanfora testified regarding the philosophy that guided him in his professional role as a teacher. He explained in his testimony that in his view it would be wholly inappropriate for a teacher to discuss his sexual orientation with students. He would not, and had not, discussed any aspects of sexuality either with students or fellow faculty members. He would not advocate, and had not advocated, that any other person participate in homosexual activities. Asked how, if he were reinstated, he would respond to students who might inquire about his homosexuality. Acanfora testified that he would tell students that he did not inquire into their personal lives and that he wished them not to inquire into his. Acanfora’s supervisor testified that his teaching performance had been wholly satisfactory. Students of Acanfora testified that he was a popular and effective teacher and that they hoped he would be reinstated. Students and faculty alike had sponsored petitions urging Montgomery county Schools to reinstate him. (Both the local Montgomery County Education Association and the National Education Association, the largest teachers' group in the U.S., lended their support.) The record contained no evidence that any students, parents, or faculty members objected to his reinstatement at the time.

In addition to testimony concerning the facts, both sides introduced expert witness testimony concerning the possible effects of Acanfora teaching in the classroom. The experts were unanimous that there is generally no danger in homosexuals teaching in the public schools. However, Montgomery County School Board’s experts contended that the return of Acanfora to the classroom might conceivably be dangerous because of the conjunction of two additional facts:

1. as a result of the publicity, his students would be aware of his homosexuality, and
2. he taught at a grade level in which students were entering adolescence.

In their view, if Acanfora was an effective and popular teacher he would constitute a "role model" for his students. The experts feared that a "relatively few" students who enter adolescence with "extreme emotional disturbances" might be so impressed with Acanfora as a teacher that they would seek to emulate him in all respects, and thus decide to become homosexuals. The experts likened their view that Acanfora be excluded from the classroom to an "inoculation program" even though only a "handful of individuals" might be affected, he should be excluded. They acknowledged that their concerns were wholly speculative, that there was no relevant data on the subject, and that there is no known instance of a homosexual teacher, simply because he was known to be a homosexual, having an adverse effect on even a single adolescent.

Acanfora’s experts disagreed with this speculation, advancing several reasons why Acanfora’s impressiveness as a teacher would not result in students becoming homosexuals to emulate him.

The Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Elseroad, testified that he opposed reinstatement of Acanfora, for three reasons:

1. Acanfora had "withheld information on his application" i.e. his membership in the Homophiles of Penn State,
2. employment of a known homosexual in the classroom "increases the risk of having a good model available for students in the public schools", and
3. because Acanfora’s homosexuality "has become widely-known and highly publicized," returning him to the classroom "would involve that school in a swirl of controversy. . ."

On May 1, 1973, after the trial but prior to the district court’s decision, Montgomery County Schools notified Acanfora that his employment would not be renewed for the 1973-74 school year. The notification did not state the reasons for non-renewal, but its issuance came only two weeks after Dr. Elseroad’s testimony as to the reasons why he did not believe Acanfora should be reinstated to the classroom. The district court reopened the record, at Acanfora’s request, to admit the non-renewal notice into evidence.