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Amherst school must reinstate counselor who reportedly misgendered students
The counselor was accused of injecting her religious beliefs into her counseling and making a comment about the “LGBTQ gay demon that wants to confuse our children.”
A former Amherst Regional Middle School guidance counselor has been ordered reinstated with back pay after she was ousted in 2023 amid allegations she misgendered and deadnamed transgender students while allowing her religious beliefs to seep into her counseling.
Delinda Dykes was among several school employees at the center of a 2023 exposé in The Graphic, the student newspaper at Amherst Regional High School. The article detailed allegations that Dykes and another guidance counselor, Hector Santos, routinely referred to trans students and staff by the wrong names and pronouns, invoked anti-LGBTQ+ prayer at school, and failed to support students facing gender-based bullying or intimidation.
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Once, during a private prayer circle in Santos’s office before school, Dykes allegedly made a comment about the “LGBTQ gay demon that wants to confuse our children,” The Graphic reported. The report further alleged Santos’s daughter, fellow guidance counselor Tania Cabrera, also misgendered students.
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The district cut ties with Dykes following a two-pronged investigation into the claims, but Dykes challenged her firing through arbitration. According to Amherst-Pelham Regional Public Schools Superintendent Dr. E. Xiomara Herman, an arbitrator ultimately found the district had violated state law on the dismissal or demotion of school employees and ordered the district to immediately reinstate Dykes “and to restore all wages and benefits she would have received but for the wrongful termination, less interim earnings.”
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The district is legally obligated to comply, Herman explained in a press release last week. The release did not mention Santos or Cabrera. All three counselors have denied the claims, their lawyer previously telling The Boston Globe the allegations are unfounded.
“My clients did not engage in ‘conversion therapy’ or any Title IX violation,” Ryan P. McLane wrote in an email to the Globe in July 2023. “They are Christians, but that does not mean that they are somehow not entitled to a fair investigation. While the law prohibits discrimination based on sex, it also prohibits discrimination based on religious beliefs.”
An Amherst administrator ultimately cleared the three counselors of claims they violated the federal Title IX statute, though the administrator critiqued their alleged misgendering as “objectively offensive” in some cases, according to MassLive.
Herman noted the arbitrator’s recent decision “made clear” certain procedural deficiencies contributed to Dykes’s reinstatement, including the lack of documented progressive discipline, limited evidentiary records, and the absence of key witnesses during arbitration.
“There are lessons to be learned,” she said, adding, “This moment is not just about compliance — it is a call to action.” The allegations outlined in The Graphic predate her tenure as superintendent, which began in 2024.
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“We are working to build systems that are transparent, ensure accountability, and grounded in equity — not only for our students, but also for our educators and the broader community,” Herman said.
Acknowledging news of Dykes’s reinstatement would likely prompt concern, she urged community members to meet the moment with understanding, not division. While the district is fully complying with the arbitration ruling, Herman said its long-term focus remains on building systems that reflect its values, protect its students, and uphold a high standard of professional conduct.
“We cannot change the past, but we can and must learn from it,” Herman added. “We will use this moment to build stronger systems, reset expectations, tighten guardrails, and create clearer pathways forward. This is an opportunity to improve how we lead, how we document, and how we ensure accountability.”
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