A male teacher at a Lewisville ISD high school has resigned several weeks after he was placed on administrative leave and later exonerated after a video of him wearing women’s clothing on dress-up day at school circulated on social media.
On Feb. 14, the @libsoftiktok account on X (formerly Twitter), which has 2.8 million followers, posted a short video of Hebron High School science teacher Rachmad Tjachyadi wearing a pink dress while talking to students. The poster said Tjachyadi has taught in full drag in the past. In an email to families the next day, Hebron Principal Amy Boughton said “the staff member has been placed on administrative leave while the district reviews the situation.”
A change.org petition was created to ask LISD leaders to let Tjachyadi’s return to the classroom. The petition creator said many students encouraged Tjachyadi to wear the dress in the first place. It has about 20,600 signatures, as of Thursday.
The district’s investigation into Tjachyadi’s dress found he didn’t violate any policies, CBS News reported, but he has decided to resign anyway.
“It has been challenging to watch the negative external commentary about me and about our campus, but much more important to me is the support shown by my colleagues, students, and LISD,” Tjachyadi said in a resignation letter. “My focus is and has always been our students, and I still believe in the important work being done at Hebron and in Lewisville ISD every day. It is because of my love for Hebron and our students that I have decided not to return. I know that might sound strange, but any time adult disagreements overshadow our students’ learning and well-being, it is time to step away.”
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