WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A principal fired after refusing to say the Holocaust was a historical fact has lost an appeal to win back his job.
A state appeals court Wednesday rejected former Spanish River High School Principal William Latson's challenge to the Palm Beach County School Board's decision last year to terminate him over his explosive remarks.
The decision brings the two-year legal battle over Latson's employment closer to an end, though the former principal can still appeal to the Florida Supreme Court.
The administrator was first ousted in October 2019 after telling a parent via email he "can't say the Holocaust is a factual, historical event because I am not in a position to do so as a school district employee."
The comment, revealed more than a year after the fact in a July 2019 Palm Beach Post article, led to calls for his removal from the school. When Latson blamed the outcry on the parent who received the email, local lawmakers and the Anti-Defamation League called for his termination.
Under increasing political pressure, then-Superintendent Donald Fennoy moved to fire him.
Latson appealed, and an administrative law judge sided with him, concluding in August 2020 that Latson's actions did not merit termination.
The judge's decision was based, in part, on an assumption that the school district had a "progressive discipline" policy for principals, meaning most initial incidents of misconduct are supposed to be punished lightly and subsequent violations punished more harshly.
Three months later, board members rejected the judge's recommendation, adopting a final order that maintains Latson's actions were enough to fire him.
In justifying their decision, board members argued the district has a progressive discipline policy for teachers and other unionized workers, but that it does not apply to principals.
Wednesday, a panel of the 4th District Court of Appeal unanimously upheld the school board's decision.
"The Board's rejection of conclusions reached in the administrative law judge's order, which were mixed questions of fact and law, were imbued with policy considerations on which the appellate court should defer to the agency," the judges wrote in a one-paragraph ruling.
School Board member Karen Brill, the board's only Jewish member, said she was pleased that the court validated the board's decision to overrule the administrative law judge.
"I'm hopeful this ruling will send a strong message that the Holocaust is a historical fact and it needs to be taught in our schools," she said.
Latson's attorney did not respond to a request for comment.
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