We need your thoughts on this story coming out of the northwestern United States.
A mother is suing an Oregon school district, claiming a teacher threatened to kill her son, who is a special education student and gay. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, also names five employees, including the teacher, Brett Trosclair, and says her son was subjected to repeated acts of "harassment and discrimination" by school staff.
She's filed a federal First and Fourteenth Amendment lawsuit claiming his constitutional rights were violated. The suit will also test the federal Title IX law, alleging sex discrimination.
The Oregonian reports that in a March assembly last year, her son "told his friend that he thought another student was cute, according to the lawsuit. Trosclair then turned around, the son said, and told the boys to 'shut up.' Then the teacher threatened to kill them and throw them down the stairs, the suit alleges."
“Defendants had an unofficial policy, custom or practice of condoning harassment and discrimination based on sexual orientation,” the lawsuit states. “Defendents’ conduct toward Plaintiff was extreme and outrageous and constitutes an extraordinary transgression of the bounds of socially tolerable conduct," it adds.
Dicintio's son, identified in the suit only as "J.D.," and the student he was talking with complained, and the teacher was placed on administrative leave.
The lawsuit details other times Dicintio says school staff engaged in harassment or bullying of her son.
"In May 2014, she alleges, the school's dean of students refused to help the student while he was being verbally and physically assaulted in the lunchroom," the Oregonian reports.
In September 2014, Dicintio alleges, another teacher told her son "to stop being a diva and a priss." After Dicintio complained, the superintendent's executive council reviewed the district's policies on bullying and harassment. The district also offered multiple two-hour trainings so staff could learn about LGBTQ and gender issues to better meet the needs of gay and transgender students.
Still, Dicintio's lawsuit says district officials did not do enough and instead caused her son "emotional distress, embarrassment, humiliation, anxiety, stress and fear."
Meanwhile students have rallied around the teacher, who has retuned to the school. They say he was joking, and they've created a Facebook support page for him and on Twitter are using the hashtag #TeamTrosclair to offer support to the teacher. – thenrecivilrightsmovement.com
Thanks thenewcivilrightsmovement.com for sharing this story. Unfortunately we know hundreds of thousands of incidents like this happen every year in our schools. Many cases are much worse with larger emotional and physical harm. Making legal cases like this one are necessary to escalate these types of occurrences into the spotlight to reinforce that this type of behavior is wrong. And even if the student wasn't in special education and if he wasn't gay, the teacher may need to rethink how he jokes with students.
Or are we wrong?
Is the mother being over-protective of her special education gay student?
Should a teacher be joking about killing a student?
Does this story deserve a "WTF!" and why is this teacher allowed back in the school?
Tell us your thoughts.
First of all, a person in an authority position should know better. The teacher should not have said a thing. The teacher is doing nothing less than bullying and deserves to be let go. To even joke about something like that is completely wrong. We are all different and have different ideas, views, and beliefs. As soon as we learn to accept one another and not try to make everything the way we are the better. I think the teacher and all of the ones involved need to be released of duty. I agree with the mother. If he was my child, I would be after the school, school board, and any and all involved. Things like this can scar a person. Don’t our children have enough to worry with and deal with without adding a threat like this especially coming from a teacher. FIRE THE TEACHER!!!
Is anyone looking at the
Is anyone looking at the #teamtrosclair there is major hate, threats everything towards this child. A "JOKE" ! Banner, tshirts and posters where made against this kid and placed in and out of the school. They gave teacher a bad vacation and isolated kid to online school.
Death threats are never
Death threats are never acceptable and never a 'Joke'.
No child deserves that no
No child deserves that no person deserves that.Then for them to say the teacher was joking was wrong a teacher is a position unlike any other they can make or break a student.Joking around of that sorts is for an uneducated fool.