Township High School District 113 has reached a settlement with teacher Britnee Kenyon in her First Amendment and defamation lawsuit against the district, a potential capstone to a controversy stemming from social media posts she shared back in 2023 referencing the Israel-Hamas War.
The board approved the settlement during Tuesday’s well-attended board meeting with one dissenting vote, cast by Alexander Brunk. Also approved during the meeting was a notice to remedy, which is a disciplinary measure, for Kenyon.
In a statement released after the meeting, D113 said the settlement agreement was not an admission of wrongdoing by the district. The specifics of the settlement and the notice to remedy were not immediately available, but will be available through the Freedom of Information Act after legal review, a district representative said.
“The board takes its responsibility for financial stewardship and defending the district’s rights seriously, evaluating legal matters, the board considers staff time, legal fees, counsel’s advice, and insurance coverage to determine whether settlement better serves the interests of students, staff, and taxpayers than continued litigation,” the statement said.
Social media posts
According to court documents, the controversy began in December 2023 when Kenyon, the theater director at Deerfield High School since 2019, shared a post on her social media from American author Ibram X. Kendi regarding the Israel-Hamas War. In the post, Kendi criticized the Israeli military for what he described as ethnic cleansing and a “crime against humanity … against history.”
The post, which was on Kenyon’s social media for 24 hours before being automatically deleted, drew extensive backlash from some community parents. According to court documents, Kenyon, who is Jewish, was accused of being antisemitic and that her post had slandered Israel.
Days after her post, then-board President Daniel Struck put out a statement to the community referencing Kenyon’s post, saying it, “implicitly disparages the personal beliefs and human decency of a substantial portion of our student body.” Kenyon was also given a written reprimand in January for her social media posts.
Struck would later resign in February of 2024 in relation to the growing controversy, and Kenyon filed a lawsuit last year against the district alleging, among other counts, that it had violated her First Amendment rights and that Struck’s letter constituted defamation against her.
Students, parents voice support
In court documents, Kenyon is described as “generally well-liked” by students, parents, staff and the community. That positive reputation was on display during Tuesday’s meeting, with the vast majority of speakers voicing their support for the theater teacher, although their reasons varied.
One student, who identified himself as a “proud, unwavering Jew and an even prouder supporter of Zionism,” defended his teacher, arguing it was an issue of freedom of speech.
“Civil discourse is a healthy part of society,” he said. “I urge you all to fight for truth, justice and a better tomorrow, or maybe just give her the apology that she definitely deserves.”
Other students and parents came into the meeting carrying signs saying “Stop targeting teachers,” and statements of support for Kenyon were met with applause and cheers from the crowd several times during the meeting.
J.R. Willard-Rose, a fellow theater teacher on the other side of the Chicagoland area, said he was happy to see the support for Kenyon, saying it speaks “volumes” about the kind of teacher she is. Willard-Rose said her post was “anti-violence,” and it was “important she has the right to post what she wants to post.”
Parent Jamie Tiplitsky read a statement from her two sons, who emphasized Kenyon had “not once threatened” their Jewish identity, and “has only supported us as Jews, people and students,” praising her abilities as an educator.
Not all public comments were supportive, including one from a Deerfield mother who criticized Kenyon for favoritism and “inappropriate behavior,” sharing the negative experience her daughter had with the teacher that she said ultimately drove her away from theater.
Also in attendance during Tuesday’s meeting was Daniel Schwartz, president of the Chicago Jewish Alliance, which has heavily criticized Kenyon online for spreading “anti-Israel propaganda” and “vilifying Israel — and by extension, Jewish families and students.”
He called the settlement a “capitulation,” saying district parents had warned of “political indoctrination outside of the classroom,” and “repeated boundary violations.” Schwartz questioned what was included in the settlement, accusing the board of secrecy about “taxpayer dollars being used to bury misconduct rather than confront it.”
“Freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequences,” Schwartz said. “Teachers hold unique authority when that authority is misused, when personal politics and explicit contest content cross into the space that students inhabit. The district has a duty to act. To shrug it off as private opinion is not neutrality, it’s negligence.”