Settlement reached in Las Vegas lawsuit over ‘pornographic’ assignment deemed too profane for board meeting

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Two parents and the Clark County School District have settled a lawsuit over an assignment where a 15-year-old was required to read an expletive-laced monologue that the school board deemed too obscene to read publicly at a meeting.

In 2023, Candra and Terrell Evans filed the lawsuit against the district, Superintendent Dr. Jesus Jara, the teacher and others over allegations of “unlawful grooming and abuse of a minor” involving the “pornographic material.”

The Las Vegas Academy of the Arts student’s name was not included in the lawsuit. However, Candra Evans publicly identified herself as the mother of the student during a May 2022 school board meeting when she brought up her concerns during public comment.

According to documents the 8 News Now Investigators obtained, the parents and the district recently settled the lawsuit for $25,000 and the understanding the district will train the magnet school’s teachers on its regulations.

In March 2022, the theater teacher assigned her class an assignment where each student would write a monologue and then perform another student’s writing, the lawsuit said. The monologue assigned to the teenager “contained explicit, obscene and sexually violent material,” the lawsuit said. “[The teacher] helped the other student edit their obscenely violent pornographic monologue knowing that it would then be provided to another student to read, memorize and perform in front of the class,” the lawsuit said.

“I didn’t believe that the teacher would ever give a student something like this, so it was more shock,” Candra Evans said about finding the monologue on her kitchen table. “Having to memorize that and to read that, I thought it was just so inappropriate.”

The final version of the monologue described a woman telling her ex-boyfriend that she was a lesbian. The monologue, which the lawsuit alleges the teacher edited, read as follows:

“I don’t love you. It’s not you, it’s just (looks down) your d***. I don’t like your d*** or any d*** in that case. I cheated Joe. We were long distance and I’m in college and me and this girl, my roommate, started having some drinks and you know, I thought it was a one-time thing but then we started going out for coffee, and started sleeping in the same bed. I never thought it would get this far but God, it was like fireworks, and made me realize that with you it was always like a pencil sharpener that keeps getting jammed. I’ve tried to look at it from all different perspectives, but the truth is, I’m a f***** lesbian. I’ll never love you or any man, or any f****** d***. I hope you find a nice straight girl because that’s not me, and I’m tired of pretending that it is.”

Candra Evans first met with school staff about the assignment, she said. A school associate later agreed to investigate it, the lawsuit said. Candra Evans also asked that “no one at [the school] speak with [her daughter] about the matter unless she was present and [the school associate] said he would honor the request.”

“I wanted to hear somebody tell me, ‘Oh my gosh, this was so inappropriate. We’re going to fix this. This shouldn’t have happened,’” Candra Evans said. “But I didn’t hear that.”

A few days later, the parents inquired with someone at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. That person said a report would need to be filed with Clark County School District Police. The parents allege a report was taken, but later falsified, the lawsuit said. In their responses, CCSD lawyers argued no crime was committed.

In May 2022, Candra Evans attended a CCSD board meeting where she attempted to read the monologue. She got through about six seconds before a trustee asked her to stop.

“Forgive me — we’re not using profanity,” then-Board President Evelyn Garcia Morales said. “This is a public meeting I ask for decorum.”

“If you don’t want me to read it to you, what was it like for my 15-year-old daughter to have to memorize pornographic material?” Candra Evans replied.

Then-CCSD Superintendent Dr. Jara then interjected, saying his administration was already addressing the assignment. The district bleeped out several words in Candra Evans’ statement and blurred her mouth in the publicly available video.

“If they can’t handle hearing that but they expect my daughter to read it, there’s a problem there, it’s hypocrisy,” she said.

CCSD officials tweeted after that meeting that they were investigating the circumstances surrounding the class assignment.

Candra Evans later learned her daughter had met alone with a school administrator about the assignment, the lawsuit said. The lawsuit claims the student “was falsely imprisoned because “she was not able to leave” the meeting.

The lawsuit initially claimed the board violated Candra Evans’ First Amendment rights. However, CCSD later provided a document, showing all public commenters agree to adhere to certain rules, including no explicit language, when entering the meeting.

As the case headed toward trial, a federal judge dismissed all claims except those involving the student’s assignment, her First Amendment rights and her treatment afterward.

“I think kids are going to be a lot safer from teachers like this one who in my opinion just — I don’t know what happened and why she thought this would be OK,” Candra Evans said. “I think she’s the only one who thought it was OK.”

Candra Evans said she wanted to make clear her daughter did not write the monologue. She added she did not have any issue with the subject but the words themselves.

“In the end, what’s most important is that my daughter can walk away from this proud because she made a change,” Candra Evans said. “She made a difference.”

An unnamed CCSD trustee was alleged to have called the public comments a “publicity stunt,” claiming a parent group coached Candra Evans through the public comment. Candra Evans denied the claim in the lawsuit. The American Center for Law and Justice assisted in the case.

CCSD does not admit any liability in the settlement. The district did not return a request for comment about the settlement.

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