A teacher in the U.S. state of Iowa was fired after it was discovered that she had offered high school students extra credit in exchange for donations to her personal fundraiser. The fundraiser was intended to finance a trip to Ecuador.
Stephanie Mally worked as a long-term substitute teacher in the Clinton School District. She was fired on May 29, 2026, after school officials learned about the offer made to students.
Administrative Law Judge Duane Golden found that during the 2025–2026 school year, Mally told students about her educational goals and a GoFundMe fundraiser she had created. She offered students extra credit in her subject if they donated money to the fundraiser.
Some students did in fact contribute money. Case documents also state that some students felt pressured because the extra credit was tied to donations to the teacher.
Mally organized the fundraiser with her husband for a trip to Ecuador planned for July 2026. She wrote that she had been invited to participate in a medical mission, where she was supposed to assist with translation and help overcome the language barrier between medical workers and local residents. Her husband was also expected to assist the team.
The fundraiser’s goal was $1,800, which was to be spent on airfare, buses and boats, food and accommodation. Before it was suspended, $140 had been raised from six people.
The judge ruled that Mally was ineligible for unemployment benefits, stating that offering extra credit in exchange for donations was a violation of her job duties and demonstrated negligence toward the interests of the school district. It is unknown whether she and her husband ultimately made the trip to Ecuador.
The central issue in the case is not the financing of a personal trip, but the fact that the teacher’s offer linked students’ academic performance to financial support. When a grade becomes a benefit offered in exchange for a donation, a student is placed in an unusual situation, particularly when the offer comes from the teacher responsible for grading them.
Another notable aspect of the case is that the judge’s decision concerned not only the circumstances of the dismissal but also eligibility for unemployment benefits. While the ultimate fate of the trip remains unknown, the facts of the case show how quickly a personal fundraiser can become a workplace disciplinary matter when it involves the relationship between a teacher and students.
