Good Thursday morning! Today's issue is a 2 minute read (502 words).
Today, you will meet an unsung hero, Meagan Norris, special education teacher and passionate advocate for her students.
After she advocated for a student with Down syndrome, the Opelika City School Board of Education retaliated against her. How? Read on. This is a terrific story.
Her student's IEP required the school to provide his P.E. with regular education students. Ms. Norris observed the child's P.E. teachers using a tape barrier to segregate this child from his classmates.
She reported these incidents to the principal, expecting him to right the wrongs. When she expressed her opposition to what she observed, she said:
“This cannot happen. It’s segregation, it’s hurtful . . .
At the end of the day, forget the legal side of it, it’s just mean.”
But nothing changed. The P.E. teachers continued to use the tape barrier to segregate her student.
When the boy's parent learned that the P.E. teachers were using a tape barrier to segregate his child, he requested a due process hearing against the school district. The parent's evidence included a video of Ms. Norris and her position about mainstreaming his child.
While the due process hearing decision was pending, the P.E. teachers told the principal that they observed Ms. Norris drop a student after holding him by an arm and a leg.
The principal didn't discuss the P.E. teachers' allegations with Ms. Norris. He didn't ask for her side of the story. Instead, he reported Ms. Norris for child abuse.
The child's parent prevailed in the due process hearing. The school district didn't appeal the decision.
One day after Hearing Officer issued his decision, the Opelika City School Board of Education decided to not renew Ms. Norris' teaching contract.
In December 2018, Meagan Norris filed a lawsuit against the Opelika City School Board of Education and David Carpenter, principal of Jeter Elementary School. She alleged that the school district and principal retaliated against her because she advocated for her student.
In her Complaint, Ms. Norris alleged that the school district retaliated against her in four ways:
- (1) reported her to DHR on a false allegation of child abuse;
- (2) removed her from her classroom;
- (3) threatened her effort to obtain her master's degree; and
- (4) did not renew her teaching contract.
A jury trial is scheduled for January 2021. We will keep you posted!
