Substitute teacher fired after offering students extra credit if they helped fund her medical mission trip to Ecuador

An Iowa substitute teacher reportedly offered her students an unusual opportunity to improve their grades. All they had to do for extra credit was donate money to her personal GoFundMe. The fundraiser was intended to help pay for a medical mission trip to Ecuador with her husband, but the arrangement ultimately cost her something considerably bigger than the trip expenses: her teaching job. 

Stephanie Mullaley, a full-time, long-term substitute teacher with the Clinton Community School District, was fired on May 29, 2026, for reportedly violating the district’s ethics policy. The circumstances resurfaced in September when an administrative law judge denied her request for unemployment benefits.

According to the Iowa Capital Dispatch, Mullaley had discussed her educational goals with students during the school year. That spring, she reportedly told them they could earn extra credit toward their grades by donating to her GoFundMe account.

Some students contributed money, but the district eventually discovered the arrangement. What Mullaley presented as an opportunity to improve their grades became the reason for her dismissal.

Students reportedly felt pressured to donate

Administrative Law Judge Duane Golden reportedly reviewed the circumstances while considering Mullaley’s unemployment claim. His findings described students being offered a grade-related benefit in exchange for contributing money to their teacher’s personal fundraiser.

“Students felt pressured to donate money to her personal GoFundMe page,” Golden concluded. The judge found that Mullaley’s conduct constituted job-related misconduct and denied her unemployment benefits. He determined that her actions demonstrated a “willful or wanton disregard” for the school district’s interests.

Teachers have faced dismissal over other classroom decisions. In Texas, an educator was fired over an assigned graphic novel based on Anne Frank’s diary. Mullaley’s case, however, centered on asking students to contribute money in exchange for extra credit.

The fundraiser was intended for a medical mission

Mullaley’s GoFundMe had a $1,800 goal and collected $140 through six donations before activity was paused. The reporting did not establish how much of that money came from students.

Teachers sometimes spend their own money on classroom needs, including one educator who said she funded her classroom decorations before finding them ruined by mold. While she may not have asked students to contribute anything monetary, an X user later claimed the teacher was fired after her video about the situation circulated.

The GoFundMe described a planned July trip to Ecuador, where Mullaley said she would serve as an interpreter for a medical mission team. Her husband would assist with other tasks. Donations would help cover transportation, meals, and accommodation.

Although the fundraiser described a medical mission rather than a vacation, its purpose did not change the judge’s assessment. The issue was Mullaley’s decision to connect students’ grades to contributions toward her personal expenses.

The fundraiser fell well short of its goal, and Mullaley’s attempt to obtain unemployment benefits was unsuccessful. What began as an unusual offer to boost students’ grades ended with losing much more than a trip to Ecuador.

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