Editor’s note: This report has been edited to clarify attributions from the Springfield Police Department.
A state representative who asked about two dismissed Central High School teachers said he plans to continue an investigation into why they were fired, but clarified his accounting of what happened.
Meanwhile, it appears that no criminal investigation against the teachers is underway.
Rep. Jamie Gragg, R-Ozark, on April 3 submitted a Sunshine Law request to the Springfield Public Schools asking for documents from Dec. 1, 2023 to April 3, 2024 pertaining to two teachers at Central High School. In his request, he named teachers Kerry Bodenhausen and Victoria Rogers.
A conservative website linked Gragg’s request into a report alleging the two teachers were fired for assisting a student with a gender transition without knowledge of the child’s parents.
In an interview April 12 with the Springfield Daily Citizen, Gragg clarified he has confirmed only that two teachers were fired for taking a student to one of their homes without their parents’ knowledge, and that he continues to look into the case.
“I want to find out the validity of the accusation to find out what has actually happened,” Gragg said. “Because something has happened, but nothing is being said. So we need to get to the bottom of this.”
Court records as of Friday show no charges being filed against either of the teachers.
Cris Swaters, spokesperson for the Springfield Police Department, said police responded to a matter that could possibly be related to the two teachers. But that matter was a non-criminal juvenile situation, and its details — including confirmation of any names or dates of investigation — are closed under Missouri law.
The Daily Citizen has been unable to reach Rogers for comment. Bodenhausen turned down an opportunity to comment based on advice from her attorney.
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Ozark state rep who seeks to limit ‘social transition’ advice, demands details of two dismissed SPS teachers
Two Springfield Central High School teachers were dismissed, but the district will not release details, saying those are closed records under state law.
Stephen Hall, chief communications officer for SPS, said earlier this week that both teachers were relieved of their duties at the start of February. Bodenhausen’s employment ended on March 31, and Rogers remains under contract until May 23.
He said he is prevented by state law from reporting why the two were dismissed.
“Board policy and law limits the ability of us to provide those specific, beyond a confirmation of the name of an employee, the appointment dates and the status of their employment,” Hall said.
That information was also conveyed in the district’s response to Gragg’s Sunshine Law request.
According to SPS Board Policy GBH, teachers are expected to maintain appropriate boundaries with students. A section called “Failure to Maintain Boundaries” lists 14 examples of improper conduct, and one of those examples is “inviting students to the staff member’s home” and “meeting students in nonwork settings without the parent/guardian being present, even if the parent/guardian grants permission.”
Gragg said the next part of his investigation involves a more specific Sunshine Law request that involves communications among district personnel about the teachers. He said he obtained advice from the state’s attorney general office on how to file such requests, but is getting no other assistance from that office at this point.
Though Springfield Public Schools is not in his legislative district, Gragg said the people in his district have a lot of interaction with the city, and views the investigation as part of his duties as a state representative.
The Lion, a conservative website, cited a “whistleblower” in reporting the firing was connected to helping a transgender student transition. In a follow-up, the site linked the case to a bill that Gragg has sponsored only a few days before the report surfaced.
HB 2885, in its current form, would make it a felony for any teacher or counselor to offer support to a child regarding social transition, and those found guilty would have to register as sex offenders. Social transition may involve wishing to change your name and/or pronouns, or change clothing or hairstyles to affect appearance, and may be related to interest in gender transition.
But Gragg has yet to get any confirmation that the situation related to any kind of transition, he said. He hopes to show that no crimes have been committed, whether they are related to transgender issues or not.
“I started pursuing this because the accusation did echo the bill that I have filed,” Gragg said. “If we get to a place where we find out that everything is on the up and up, that this is being taken care of as it should, then that’s where it will end. But we’ll keep going until we have that supporting documentation, or what we need to satisfy that.”
