13 surprising school-related conflicts

Michigan educators faced threats due to a pronoun lesson, a Pennsylvania school faced backlash over an "unfortunate" assignment about slavery, and lawsuits emerged from a teacher's rap career, a disagreement in a school drop-off line and discipline of a special needs student.

NO. 1: TEACHER PUSHED SPECIAL NEEDS BOY ON FLOOR, HAD STUDENTS HIT AND DRAG HIM, LAWSUIT SAYS

The Pennsylvania school says the allegations are untrue. | Published March 4, 2024 | Read Full Story

NO. 2: MOM COMPLAINS ABOUT SCHOOL DROP-OFF LINE ON FACEBOOK AND SCHOOL RETALIATES, LAWSUIT SAYS

“The superintendent screams at parents with her arms in the air,” the Pennsylvania mom said on Facebook. | Published March 6, 2024 | Read Full Story

NO. 3: TEACHER SAYS SHE WAS FIRED WHEN HER RAP CAREER WAS DISCOVERED. ‘YOU’RE A BAD INFLUENCE’

A high school teacher who said she was fired over her rap career is fighting back — with a little help from her former students. | Published March 21, 2024 | Read Full Story

NO. 4: SCHOOL ASSIGNMENT ASKS 5TH GRADER TO ‘ROLEPLAY AS A SLAVE MASTER,’ PA PARENT SAYS

A Pennsylvania parent took to TikTok after finding her fifth-5thgrade daughter’s school assignment asking her to “roleplay as a slave master.”She held up the worksheet filled out by her daughter/,/ which tasked students /in the Conemaugh Township school district/ with creating a “wanted ad for a slave,” /according to the video./“I couldn’t believe what I was looking at,” the woman said in the video posted to TikTok /around March 17/. | Published March 22, 2024 | Read Full Story

NO. 5: SCHOOL DOESN’T ALLOW TRANS GIRL TO USE GIRLS BATHROOM, PARENTS’ LAWSUIT SAYS

The Wisconsin student was told she had to use faculty bathrooms, a lawsuit said. | Published March 26, 2024 | Read Full Story

NO. 6: TEACHER TAPES STUDENT TO CHAIR ‘AS A JOKE’ WHILE OTHER TEACHER TOOK VIDEO, OHIO COPS SAY

A 15-year-old student was taped to a chair “‘as a joke’” while another teacher took a video, Ohio cops say. | Published March 27, 2024 | Read Full Story

NO. 7: TEACHER FACES TERMINATION FOR USING SICK DAYS TO ATTEND CONCERT, OHIO DISTRICT SAYS

An Ohio teacher is facing termination for calling in sick to attend a concert, according to district records. | Published April 5, 2024 | Read Full Story

NO. 8: TEACHER ENCOURAGED ‘FIGHT CLUB’ DISCIPLINE AGAINST SPECIAL NEEDS BOY, IN LAWSUIT SAYS

The teacher accidentally showed the “wrong video” during a parent-teacher conference, revealing the abuse. | Published April 17, 2024 | Read Full Story

NO. 9: TEACHERS ‘AFRAID TO GO TO SCHOOL’ AFTER HARASSMENT FROM PRONOUN LESSON, DISTRICT SAYS

Staff members at the Michigan school have been harassed and doxed, the district said. | Published April 22, 2024 | Read Full Story by Mike Stunson

NO. 10: ‘CONTINUES TO SUFFER’: JOHNSON COUNTY MOM SUES, SAYS SCHOOL FAILED TO KEEP TRANS SON SAFE

A Leawood mother is suing the Blue Valley school district, alleging that school officials failed to protect her transgender son as he faced relentless harassment and bullying.The federal lawsuit, filed late last week, claims the Leawood Middle School student faced severe mental health issues, leading him to self harm, as classmates bullied him while often using a slur. | Published May 1, 2024 | Read Full Story

NO. 11: TEACHER ABUSED 2 CHILDREN WITH AUTISM IN CLASS, REPEATEDLY HIT 1 STUDENT, LAWSUIT SAYS

The South Carolina teacher was fired and has been arrested, police say. | Published May 15, 2024 | Read Full Story by Julia Marnin

NO. 12: TEACHER REFUSED TO USE PREFERRED PRONOUNS AND WAS FIRED, SUIT SAYS. NOW DISTRICT OWES

/A California school district has settled a lawsuit with a teacher who says she was fired over her religious beliefs after she refused to use students’ preferred pronouns, attorneys say./A California school district has agreed to settle with one of its former teachers more than a year after she filed a lawsuit over her firing, which she argues violated her religious beliefs, the teacher’s attorneys say.The Jurupa Unified School District in Riverside County agreed to pay $360,000 /to/ Jessica Tapia, her attorneys at Advocates for Faith & Freedom said in a May 14 news release.The settlement closes a federal lawsuit Tapia filed last May that alleged the district’s decision to fire Tapia violated her civil and First Amendment rights, according to the lawsuit. | Published May 15, 2024 | Read Full Story

NO. 13: COACH ATTACKS TEEN FROM BEHIND AND CHOKES HIM AT MICHIGAN SCHOOL, SECURITY VIDEO SHOWS

A Michigan coach has been fired after surveillance video showed him attack a student from behind and choke him, added according to local news outlets and the school district. | Published June 12, 2024 | Read Full Story

The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.