A California teacher reportedly stormed out of her classroom after seeing a student wearing a Make America Great Again shirt last week.
The unidentified Spanish teacher at Cerritos High School later sent students a lengthy email in which she argued that MAGA clothing is “intended to intimidate both students and teachers” and called newly elected President Donald Trump a “fascist.”
She also argued in her post that it is unfair that students can wear political clothing but teachers cannot. She says she is speaking with ABC Unified School District officials about the policy and is “in discussions with my union representative and attorneys.”
‘Given the current political climate and ABC USD’s policy of neutrality, it is NOT neutral in the sense that students may express their political views by wearing the clothing of their favorite political party and teachers may NOT express their political views by wearing their favorite political party attire, I have a disagreement with the administration regarding this double standard,” the teacher reportedly wrote in the email on November 7: screenshots of which were shared on social media.
‘It is not a neutral position for a group to express its political views (even if those views are racist, misogynistic, anti-Semitic).[tic] and homophobic) and the other side is silenced under the threat of losing their job and/or being severely reprimanded,” read the email, signed simply by Prof. O.
A Spanish teacher at Cerritos High School (pictured) reportedly walked out of class after seeing one of her students wearing a Make America Great Again shirt
The teacher then sent the students a lengthy email in which she argued that MAGA clothing is “intended to intimidate both students and teachers” and called newly elected President Donald Trump a “fascist.”
The teacher then appeared to take a swipe at the student wearing the MAGA shirt, saying that it “represents a deep hatred of minorities, women, non-Christian religion and LGBTQ+, and in my opinion is a HATE crime if it is taught in school to behave.’
“As a Latina woman who is agnostic at best but leans toward atheism and the mother of an LGBTQ+ daughter and supporter of ALL my LGBTQ+ students, I do not feel safe at work and fear for the safety of my daughter and my students when the administration allows students to wear clothing that expresses their utter contempt and hatred towards women, minorities, non-Christian religions and the LGBTQ+ community.”
She also called Trump a “fascist who came to power by people who are afraid of the changing demographics of a country, regardless of the fact that this country was founded by people who immigrated to this great country when they saw dictators and tyrants (my father from Cuba) or fled impoverished countries. (my grandmother from Mexico) and came to this country to give their children a better life and opportunities for education.”
Prof. O concluded by saying that she will take a few days off for her mental health “while she tries to come up with a better definition of what political neutrality looks like in the classroom so that we can all feel safe coming to school, instead of being intimidated. by MAGA clothing that has promised to end welfare, including education as we know it.”
In the meantime, she encouraged her students to “keep politics at home, not in the classroom.”
ABC Unified School District told DailyMail.com they are aware of the situation and are investigating the teacher’s actions. Superintendent Gina Zietlow is pictured
ABC Unified School District told DailyMail.com it is aware of the situation and is investigating the teacher’s actions.
It also said that “we encourage students to exercise their freedom of expression within the policies of our Board of Education and the California Education Code.”
Courts have previously upheld students’ right to freedom of expression within a school, such as the one they are required to attend. The Supreme Court ruled in the 1969 Tinker v Des Moines case that students “do not lose their constitutional rights to freedom of speech and expression at the gate of the schoolhouse.”
But attorney Michael Overing, who teaches First Amendment law at the University of Southern California told ABC7: ‘It’s different with teachers, because the teachers are the ones who are there to do their job.
“If the person exercises a First Amendment right, they are at risk of losing their job,” he said of teachers.
“It’s quite simple.”