21-04-2025
- Business
- Indianapolis Star
Judge awards $269K to ex-Edison school leader in wrongful termination case
AI-assisted summary
Former Edison School of the Arts leader Nathan Tuttle was awarded $269,218 in a wrongful termination lawsuit.
Tuttle claimed his civil rights were violated due to lack of due process after being accused of using a racial slur.
Tuttle now works as principal at another Indianapolis school.
A federal judge has sided with the former leader of Edison School of the Arts in a wrongful termination lawsuit filed in 2023 after accusations surfaced about him using a racial slur in front of students.
The former leader of the Indianapolis Public Schools innovation school, Nathan Tuttle, will receive $269,218 for what his lawyers say was a violation of his civil rights when he was wrongfully terminated from his CEO position in March 2023.
The lawsuit, originally filed in May 2023, alleges the school board defamed Tuttle in his termination proceedings and did not provide him with the correct due process.
Lawyers for Tuttle said in a statement that the judge's ruling last week affirms Tuttle's civil rights were violated.
'While no monetary compensation can undo the pain and disruption caused by Edison's actions, the outcome offers a meaningful sense of validation and accountability,' lawyers from Goodin Abernathy said. 'It also brings long-overdue closure to a painful chapter for our client, who has remained steadfast in his pursuit of justice.'
Tuttle was removed as the school's CEO and executive director in March 2023, just a week after being put on administrative leave over accusations that he used the n-word in front of Black students and teachers.
The lawsuit explains that Tuttle repeated the slur while in a disciplinary meeting with students who had used the word themselves, but was not directing the slur at the students.
During a tense public hearing around the same time, parents, staff and students at the school spent more than two hours detailing concerns over Tuttle's actions, saying he created a toxic working and learning environment.
Tuttle alleges in his federal discrimination complaint that he was deprived of his due process rights under the 14 th Amendment, which would have allowed him to clear his name during a pre-termination hearing.
'He has, in effect, been cancelled,' the discrimination complaint states. 'The mob mentality that was allowed to pervade the Edison Board meeting on March 7th, carried over to their decision to terminate Tuttle.'
The lawsuit also claims that staff at the school allowed students to lead chants of homophobic slurs about Tuttle during a lunchtime protest that was shared on social media.
Tuttle's lawyers said that this case highlights the importance of due process, fairness and transparency in all employment practices.
'Nathan's experience also shines a light on the lasting harm that can result when institutions act hastily and without due process – especially in today's climate,' the lawyers said. 'It is our sincere hope that this resolution may serve as a deterrent to similar actions in the future.'
Edison is an IPS innovation school, meaning that it operates more autonomously from the IPS district and has its own non-profit board to oversee operations, but unlike the majority of the district's innovation campuses, it is not run by a charter school operator.
Due to the public outcry at the time, the board halted plans to expand its arts curriculum programming into the James Whitcomb Riley School 43, as part of changes under the district's Rebuilding Stronger plan.
Members of Edison's board of directors could not immediately be reached for comment Monday afternoon.
Tuttle is now the principal of another IPS innovation school, Matchbook Learning, a K-8 charter school on the city's west side.
