A former assistant principal with a Seymour elementary school filed a lawsuit July 27 accusing Seymour Community School Corp. for gender discrimination, disability discrimination and retaliation after being terminated.

The plaintiff, Catherine DuBois, was terminated on April 12, 2022, after an investigation into an incident where she allegedly violated Indiana’s Red Flag Law, also known as the Jake Laird Law, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana in New Albany.

According to the Indiana State Police website, this law allows the seizure and retention of firearms by a police officer from a dangerous and mentally ill person or persons.

Following her termination, DuBois filed suit against the school corporation with Stephanie Jane Hahn acting as her attorney.

Besides compensatory and punitive damages, DuBois is seeking to have Seymour Community Schools reinstate her to the same or a similar position and pay all of her lost wages and other employment-related benefits.

Prior to her termination, DuBois worked for the school corporation for 15 years in various positions. She also received positive evaluations, obtained her principal’s license and was an assistant principal at Seymour High School during the 2011-12 school year, according to court records.

In February 2019, DuBois became an elementary assistant principal and dyslexia coordinator at one of Seymour’s elementary schools.

In her lawsuit filed with the New Albany Division of the U.S. Southern District of Indiana, DuBois recounted the incident on Jan. 28, 2022, when she learned an instructional aide in her building was allegedly distressed and had been crying about her boyfriend, according to court documents.

DuBois said she was concerned for the aide based upon her past experiences and training believing she was having suicidal ideations and was not able to receive immediate help from a therapist at the time, according to the complaint.

The aide allegedly informed DuBois in previous communications that she suffered from depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder and has experienced suicidal thoughts in the past.

DuBois said she offered to take the instructional aide to the hospital, but the aide declined and wanted to be taken home instead. DuBois said the aide then agreed to allow her to confiscate any firearms, knives, cleaning supplies, such as bleach, and prescription medications that the woman could use to commit suicide from her home.

The lawsuit alleges the Suicide Prevention Hotline was called on behalf of the instructional aide and no other additional or different action was taken.

DuBois said she secured the firearms, knives, medications and cleaning supplies in the locked trunk of her car for the purpose of transporting the items to her residence for safekeeping. She then transported the items to a locked safe inside her residence until the aide said she felt better to retrieve them again, court records state.

Unsure of next steps to take, DuBois and her supervisor sought the guidance of the school corporation’s central office, according to court records.

After seeking that guidance, Superintendent Brandon Harpe and a school resource officer were allegedly “very concerned” about DuBois’ actions, and she was interviewed to determined if she had violated Indiana’s Red Flag Law, the complaint states.

Court records state DuBois was placed on administrative leave with pay later that same afternoon, and the next day, Talmadge Reasoner, an assistant principal at Seymour High School, was assigned to investigate what had transpired.

In a meeting with Harpe that was by Indiana law required to be private and allegedly was not because of the presence of another school official, DuBois read a letter about her termination, saying she had been subjected to discrimination based on her gender compared to male educators.

DuBois contends she consulted with her supervisor, who was off sick, about how to deal with the aide and was never told by that person that her actions were inappropriate or constituted a violation of any of the corporation’s procedures or policies.

Harpe responded to The Tribune’s request for comment Tuesday, saying he could not speak about pending litigation regarding personnel issues.

Throughout the complaint, DuBois alleges three former male educators were allowed to resign following internal investigations into alleged inappropriate relationships with students.

One of the former male educators mentioned in the lawsuit was former Seymour High School wrestling coach Todd Weaver, who was arrested after having an inappropriate relationship with a student that resulted in a pregnancy.

Weaver was placed on administrative leave and then reinstated after an investigation after allegations had been unfounded at the time. This was before the student gave birth to what was later determined to be his child through a paternity test, according to the probable cause affidavit.

According to the lawsuit filed by DuBois, Weaver then was allegedly allowed to resign from his position.

On Dec. 21, 2021, Weaver entered a guilty plea to a Level 6 felony charge of dissemination of matter harmful to a minor. The plea deal called for a prison sentence of 365 days in the Jackson County Jail with 351 days suspended. He also received seven days of credit and seven days of good time credit for days served and was placed on supervised probation for 365 days.

Upon successful completion of probation, the charge was reduced to a Class A misdemeanor.

A second charge of child seduction-child care worker in sexual intercourse or other sexual conduct with a child was dismissed as part of the plea deal.

Claims made in filing a lawsuit represent only one side of the case and may be contested in later court action.