Former Beverly Hills High School teacher Joanie Garratt, right, alleges that she lost her job due to a post criticizing President Donald Trump on her personal Facebook page. (photo courtesy of V. James DeSimone via Instagram)

Former Beverly Hills High School teacher Joanie Garratt has dropped her state court lawsuit against the Beverly Hills Unified School District, but her attorney said she intends to pursue the dispute through a federal civil rights lawsuit.

Garratt filed a request on Sept. 11 to dismiss the lawsuit she brought against BHUSD in Los Angeles County Superior Court in August. Attorney V. James DeSimone, who represents Garratt, said the dismissal does not mark the end of her legal claims against the district.

“We’ve decided to proceed with the federal civil rights lawsuit on behalf of Ms. Garratt,” DeSimone said.

DeSimone said Garratt is first giving BHUSD an opportunity to resolve the dispute before proceeding with the federal lawsuit. He did not provide details about what a potential resolution would entail or when the federal case could be filed.

BHUSD did not respond to a request for comment.

Garratt, who worked for BHUSD for more than 30 years, sued the district on Aug. 17, alleging she was removed from a long-term substitute teaching assignment at Beverly Hills High School in retaliation for a Facebook post criticizing President Donald Trump and a pro-Trump student demonstration on campus.

The lawsuit alleged violations of the Bane Act, California labor and education laws and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Garratt sought unspecified damages, attorneys’ fees and other relief.

Garratt retired from full-time teaching in 2023 after spending approximately 15 years at El Rodeo Middle School and another 15 years at Beverly Hills High School. She continued working as a substitute teacher and volunteering with the Interact Club after her retirement.

In November 2024, Garratt accepted a long-term assignment teaching AP U.S. History at Beverly Hills High School while another teacher was on leave. The assignment began Nov. 4 and was expected to continue through Dec. 5, according to the lawsuit.

On Nov. 6, dozens of students participated in a pro-Trump demonstration on campus following Trump’s victory in the presidential election. Several Black students and fashion teacher Bella Ivory later alleged that students participating in the demonstration made racist comments and targeted the classroom where the Black Student Union was meeting. Ivory is currently a plaintiff in two separate lawsuits against the district alleging racism.

The following day, Garratt wrote on her personal Facebook page that she was “disheartened by a recent event on campus the day after the election” and expressed concern for students who she believed had been racially targeted.

“Don’t blame the administration for this. They are dealing with it. This comes from their leader, His Majesty, King Trump,” Garratt wrote.

Garratt has said she did not discuss the Facebook post or her political views with students.

According to Garratt’s lawsuit, Assistant Superintendent of Personnel Services Matthew Horvath contacted Garratt on Nov. 13 after the Facebook post was brought to his attention. Garratt alleged that Horvath subsequently told her during a phone call that the district did not want her back in the classroom because of the post.

BHUSD has disputed Garratt’s account. Then-superintendent Michael Bregy said in December 2024 that Garratt remained a substitute teacher for the district and that “no action was taken to dismiss her or any other employee.”

After Garratt filed the lawsuit in August, the district again denied retaliating against her.

“The Beverly Hills Unified School District does not terminate employees for political statements made on their own time,” the district said in an Aug. 19 statement. “Any assertion otherwise is false. The district looks forward to the facts of this matter coming to light through the legal process.”

DeSimone previously argued that Garratt’s Facebook post constituted protected political expression made outside the workplace and did not cause a disruption at the school.

“You don’t have absolute free speech rights in any workplace, including a school,” DeSimone said in August. “But what you do have is free speech rights outside of work, as long as it’s not causing a disruption into your workplace.”