L.A. Educators, Gadfly Reach a Tentative Accord

Gadfly Rick Selan and the Los Angeles school district have reached a tentative settlement that would keep Selan away from 13 women who sought a restraining order against him but would let him continue to represent students in special-education proceedings, his lawyer said Friday.

The out-of-court settlement identifies two school district employees whom Selan would have to notify when he wants to attend certain meetings, attorney Howard Z. Rosen said. That way, people who want to avoid him can choose to stay away.

A Los Angeles Unified School District police sergeant who supervises security in the Westside area where Selan, a retired math teacher, concentrates his activism would enforce the 10-page settlement.

The district filed for a restraining order against Selan on behalf of administrators, principals, teachers and secretaries who say he is potentially violent and harasses them in person and via fax, telephone and e-mail.

Selan denies harassing anyone, saying he is just working on behalf of children the district ignores.

He and the school employees were still reviewing the agreement Friday afternoon before signing it, Rosen said.

Selan and the 13 women would have to stay at least 100 feet from each other, Rosen said. Under the agreement, Selan would not be allowed to contact certain employees by phone or in person, but he can continue to fax, e-mail or mail them letters, Rosen said.

And the accord stipulates that when all parties deal with one another, he said, “everybody will behave civilly”--not just Selan. “It doesn’t run one way.”

Los Angeles school district General Counsel Hal Kwalwasser said Friday: “The district is pleased that this agreement will protect numerous employees from being harassed by Mr. Selan.”

The district was willing to assign three employees to deal with Selan because his behavior had “become such a problem,” Kwalwasser said.

Selan said he will abide by the agreement. But he said that if school offices don’t stop “retaliating” against him and his pro bono clients, he will not tone down his aggressive style.

“I have to fight the battle,” he said.

One of the women who sued Selan, Sharon Giglio, said she was unsure if the settlement would improve anything.

“We’ll have to see if it works as they say it will,” said Giglio, assistant principal at Selan’s former campus, Mark Twain Middle School in Venice.