According to local news in Richmond, Virginia, a teacher at Boushall Middle School is on administrative leave while being investigated for telling a student to "shut up" because she was speaking Spanish in the classroom.
What a video reveals
The confrontation between the teacher and the student is heard in a video that was posted online. A second student spoke up in support of the Spanish-speaking student.
The teacher not only told the student to "shut up." According to a transcript provided by the League of United Latin American Citizens, the teacher also said this to the student:
“Go wherever that is — that Spanish-speaking country is — and speak it.”
The transcript also shows that the school employee told the student that taxpayers in America “get the benefit of English-speaking language and so do you, so appreciate that.”
The teacher added:
“You’re not going to run my class like that.”
During the Richmond School Board meeting held on Monday night, May 1, several community members, parents, teachers, and members of the League of United Latin American Citizens spoke out against the teacher's alleged behavior.
The student's mother said:
“So with this, what I want is for the Hispanics, don't be afraid to speak out because us as parents we have to be willing to defend our children.”
Richmond Schools Chief Wellness Officer Renesha Parks said the employee will remain on administrative leave while their Employee Relations team conducts an internal review of the incident.
Parks said in a statement:
“Racism, bigotry, and intolerance of any kind will not be tolerated at Richmond Public Schools. While we cannot comment further on personnel matters, please know that RPS happily serves a diverse group of students across many races and nationalities. We will continue to support and advocate for them all.”
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