Bye, Felicia

Teacher followed trans student into bathroom, tried to force him to use urinal. Now he’s unemployed.

Lee Livengood

Lee Livengood, the West Virginia teacher who rose to fame for bullying a transgender student in the bathroom, will finally be looking for a new job.

The Harrison County Board of Education, which oversees Liberty High, the school where Livengood teaches, voted unanimously this week not to renew his contract. The board had suspended Livengood over the incident which occurred in late 2018, though it did allow him to return under a probationary contract. Now, with criticism mounting over his return, the board has decided to terminate him completely.

“There’s no other reason other than the fact that we just desire not to have him continue as an employee of the Harrison County Board of Education,” said Superintendent Mark Manchin.

Related: Asst. Principal who forced trans student to pee standing up is back on the job

Last fall, Livengood followed transgender teenager Michael Chrichfield into the men’s room and demanded he use a urinal to prove he is male. When Chrichfield refused, Livengood proceeded to harass him further, refusing to let him leave the bathroom and remarking “I’m not going to lie. You freak me out.”

Chrichfield’s family, with the backing of the American Civil Liberties Union, threatened legal action against the school district should the board not punish Livengood. He received a suspension without pay, though was allowed to return to work earlier this year. A “note of apology” also drew a public outcry for its perceived insincerity, and the ACLU had criticized the Harrison County Board for not fulfilling its good-faith effort to establish policies to better protect transgender students. With the threat of a lawsuit mounting, it appears that the Harrison County Board has taken steps to rectify the matter.

Here’s hoping Livengood has fun in the men’s room of the unemployment office.

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