A Missouri high school student who recorded a teacher using a racial slur says she was suspended for three days after the incident. Mary Walton, who began her three-day suspension on Friday, is now fighting to lift it.
The sophomore at Glendale High School in Springfield told local publication the Springfield News-Leader that she recorded the teacher so she could have evidence and hold him accountable. “I don’t think what he did was right,” he said, adding that he used profanity six times.
Walton said he texted the video to his mother after the teacher threatened to send him to the office. He shared the video with a friend and it started going viral.
After the May 9 incident, Principal Josh Groves sent a notice home to parents and students, saying the school was aware of “a Glendale teacher using offensive, derogatory language during class” and that a video was being circulated.
“I want to inform you that the comments expressed in the video are inappropriate, inexcusable and do not meet the professional standards for Springfield Public Schools staff,” the statement read.
According to the notice, the school has placed the staff member on leave and started an investigation into the incident.
“The teacher who was initially placed on administrative leave due to the situation at Glendale High School is no longer employed by Springfield Public Schools,” a Springfield Public Schools representative said in a statement to CBS News on Tuesday.
“Furthermore, there has been much speculation regarding student discipline regarding a video recording of an unacceptable classroom incident,” the representative said in the statement. “Student discipline is confidential in accordance with federal law, and Springfield Public Schools cannot release specific information related to actions taken.”
The representative said that the student handbook states that there are consequences for using electronic devices and that those consequences will be considered if minors are being recorded or “suffered by other students due to violations of privacy with classified video dissemination.”
The school district is confident that it “handled all matters related to what happened at Glendale appropriately and promptly,” the statement said.
Walton’s family, however, has hired an attorney to demand that the school’s suspension be lifted. Walton said he doesn’t regret what he did.
“I was just confused because I didn’t know what I did wrong,” he told the News-Leader. “I feel like if I hadn’t taken the video, he probably wouldn’t have been held accountable, like he is now. So I don’t know why I’m being punished.”
“I’m glad I took it.”
CBS News has reached out to the family’s attorney and is awaiting a response.
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Caitlin O’Kane
