Three Iowa Teachers Reach Settlement in Drag Show Dispute With School District

A settlement has concluded a years-long legal dispute between Ankeny Community School District and three educators who faced disciplinary action after sponsoring a student-organized drag performance. Teachers Jill Bjorklund, Mollie Jo Blahunka and PJ Hurley filed discrimination lawsuits following investigations launched in May 2022 into their roles in facilitating the event. The case was resolved just days before trial was set to begin on July 20.

The controversy centered on a drag show organized by Gender and Sexuality Alliance clubs at Ankeny High School and Southview Middle School, featuring youth performers from the Central Iowa Youth Pride Pageant. Blahunka and Bjorklund served as faculty sponsors for the clubs, while Hurley attended as an invited guest to the after-school campus event that students attended voluntarily. According to the teachers’ complaint, no attendees were harmed or offended, and the gathering did not disrupt educational activities.

After clips from the performance circulated online, Ankeny Community Schools launched an investigation, contending the event lacked proper administrative approval and failed to follow required protocols. The district placed all three teachers on leave, subsequently suspending Bjorklund and Blahunka for several days in the following school year and prohibiting all three from sponsoring school activities. The district also filed ethics charges with the Iowa Board of Education, though those charges were eventually dismissed.

The educators argued the district violated their First Amendment rights by discriminating against their speech supporting LGBTQ students and engaging in retaliation. The complaint noted that Blahunka identifies as a queer woman, Hurley as a gay man, and Bjorklund as the mother of a transgender child. The district agreed to pay each teacher approximately $27,700 plus $67,000 in combined attorney fees, totaling roughly $150,000.

A school district spokesperson stated that the settlement resolved the matter “to the satisfaction of all parties.” The dispute emerged amid broader policy changes in Iowa, including legislation signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds in May 2023 that restricted classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation for elementary grades and required parental notification if students request different names or pronouns.