An emergency motion brought by the Amherst-Pelham Regional Public Schools in western Massachusetts to stop a former employee from being reinstated to her job as a guidance counselor was denied on August 22, 2025, according to a a Hampshire Superior Court memorandum of decision.
Guidance counselor Delinda Dykes was dismissed from her job in Amherst schools in December 2023, for allegedly discriminating against LGBTQ+ students at the middle school.
She sought her job back through arbitration and won in July 2025. The school district was told it was required to reinstate Dykes in her position.
According to court records, the arbitrator found the district failed to prove Dykes had either repeatedly misgendered students despite being corrected, or that she made inappropriate comments related to gender or sexual orientation.
Seeking injunctive relief, district denied
In the August 22, 2025 court memo denying the district's emergency motion, Justice of the Superior Court James Manitsas wrote the district's motion must be denied because the “mere restating of bare allegations previously alleged by the school district and found not to have been proven by the arbitrator falls woefully short of establishing” what the district said of the the arbitrator — that she “exceeded her powers….”
A district spokesperson confirmed Dykes is on paid administrative leave. ARPS Superintendent Dr. E. Xiomara Herman said in an email the district is appealing the arbitration decision. Attorneys for the district did not return calls inquiring about the ruling.
Title IX and other reports
In May 2023, Amherst school officials ordered an independent investigation following allegations some middle school counselors failed to protect LGBTQ+ students.
The story was first reported by Amherst Regional High School’s student newspaper, The Graphic.
In November 2023, the Daily Hampshire Gazette reported on the findings of a Title IX report and other investigatory reports that found "Amherst Regional Public School leaders failed to adequately protect LGBTQ+ students from bullying and harassment by classmates and staff members, and allowed offensive conduct by at least one employee to continue despite multiple complaints...."
This story has been updated to reflect a response to NEPM from the Amherst-Pelham Regional School District, and the story has been broadened with additional information from reporting in 2023.
Correction: A news story that aired during All Things Considered on August 25, 2025 said the Amherst-Pelham Regional School District lost an appeal of an arbitration award given to employee Delinda Dykes. That was incorrect. A Hampshire Superior Court judge in Northampton, Mass., denied the district's emergency motion for "injunctive relief" that would put a stop to the arbitration award. The published story has been corrected.
