ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — An Orange County math teacher said she was fired from Edgewater High School after the principal learned her boyfriend was black. Now she has filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against the school district.
The State Commission on Human Relations took the rare step of investigating Audrey Dudek's claims and found reasonable cause to sue in federal court because of unlawful discrimination.
Dudek taught at Edgewater High School in Orlando until 2013.
She also claims former Edgewater administrators Michelle Erickson and Anthony Serianni discriminated against her because she socialized primarily with black teachers and played "black music."
Dudek claimed black and white teachers at Edgewater socialized in "substantially racially segregated groups" and that Erickson and Serianni referred to black staffers as "those people."
Eyewitness news first learned of Dudek's claims Aug. 25 and obtained a copy of the lawsuit just minutes after it was filed the next day.
Channel 9's Mario Boone uncovered a confidential report by the Florida Commission on Human Relations showing that they had investigated the claims.
The commission interviewed several witnesses and rendered a split decision, finding Dudek was not retaliated against by Orange County Public Schools, but was harassed, partly due to her association with her black boyfriend and black teachers.
WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said me Dudek couldn't have sued unless FCHR ruled in her favor.
"In this instance however, they thoroughly investigated the allegations. This gives this woman a leg up in her lawsuit," Sheaffer said.
The school district denied all claims in the suit.
Both former Edgewater principals now lead other schools within the Orange County school system.
Dudek said since her firing she's been unable to find another teaching job.