Teacher Who Says She Was Fired For Topless Selfie To Sue For $3M

BELLPORT, NY — A former Bellport Middle School teacher has filed a notice of claim and intends to sue the district for gender discrimination; she believes she was fired because of a topless selfie that was circulated throughout the school, her lawyer said.

Lauren Miranda, of Mastic Beach, who had taught math in the district since 2015, said she had taken the photo of herself to share with a former boyfriend —who also worked in the district, the notice of claim said.

According to her attorney John Ray of Ray, Mitev & Associates LLP of Miller Place, the lawsuit seeks damages of $3 million; Ray added that it is not illegal for a woman to be topless in the state of New York.

"What's happened here is effectively, the school administrators and the board sexualized a non-sexual situation and essentially stigmatized her and objectified her a a female because her breasts are displayed in the photo. This is a non-descript, non-salacious photo and it was for private consumption only, for her boyfriend," Ray said.

She never intended to share the photo with any student, the notice of claim said. The photo was taken two years ago, Ray said.

Ray said he and Miranda have "no idea" how the district got ahold of the photo; the notice of claim states that the district said they had gotten the photo from a student. At first, Ray said, the "school said they understood and were onboard. She did not circulate the selfie, so why are they firing her? The superintendent told her, 'You have to leave because you cannot teach when students can sit in your classroom and look at this photo on their cell phones,'" Ray said. "It was an unlawful discriminatory position."

Miranda, Ray said, was suspended and discharged on March 28 after the meeting with district officials on January 14, when Miranda was interrogated "with the intention of humiliating, embarrassing and berating her", the notice of claim said, despite "outstanding evaluations" across the board. The evaluations list her performance as "highly effective."

( Courtesy Samantha Starr PR, Inc.)

A letter from her attorney to the district demands that she be re-instated or she will seek legal action.

"Why should a woman be harassed in this way? Men are bare chested, there are bare chested swimmers, men bare chested working in ditches, cutting front lawns, there are bare chested men on the Super Bowl. No one gets upset about their breasts. The only distinction between them and her is, they both have nipples. Hers can suckle children and his cannot. It's absurd," Ray said.

He added: "The position they have taken —they're living in a bygone era. This is the millennial era, the Gen Z era; people know men and women are equal. They never got the memo on that, I guess."

The district was served with the notice of claim Monday, Ray said.

A request for comment from the South Country Central School District was not immediately returned.