Teaching the Capitol riot is tricky. Especially if the teacher was there.
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Sarah Matusek Staff writer
| New York
Paula Wilson鈥檚 children watched the Capitol siege unfold on TV from their Wisconsin living room, texting her updates as she worked an emergency room shift. When she got home, her son showed her a post from his 10th grade social studies teacher about his upcoming travel plans for Jan. 6.聽聽
Before he left town, the teacher, Jeff Taff, had assigned the class homework 鈥撀燼nd explained that he was headed to Washington for a few days.聽
鈥淚 am sorry, but standing up for election integrity and our right to vote in FAIR elections is too important for me to NOT be there,鈥� he wrote, according to a photo of his post on Google Classroom.聽
Why We Wrote This
Schools are trying to help students make sense of tumultuous political events. So what happens when your teacher attends a rally that becomes a riot?
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 believe it,鈥� says Ms. Wilson. 鈥淚 was just thinking, he has a right to do whatever he wants, but why would he post this for all of his kids?鈥�
The presence of school staff at or near the Capitol on Jan. 6 when a rally in support of former President Donald Trump led to violence has complicated the task of school districts across the country. Many have wrestled with convening class discussions about the polarizing events of that day while respecting employees鈥� political views and the political passions in the communities they serve. Some districts have been forced to consider disciplining personnel at a time when they鈥檙e also under sharp scrutiny from parents for their pandemic plans.聽
While teachers are held to a heightened standard as role models, they鈥檙e also 鈥渙ften held to a heightened standard as Americans,鈥� says Janet Decker, associate professor at the Indiana University School of Education.聽
Some educators are unsurprised to see the nation鈥檚 fraught electoral politics crashing the classroom, stress-testing the role of educators as guides to civics and history.聽
鈥淓very other controversy in our society that鈥檚 playing out appears in our public schools too,鈥� says Tom Hutton, interim executive director of Education Law Association.
A district investigates
Ms. Wilson says her son鈥檚 revelations about Mr. Taff troubled her, so she reported her concerns to the school. An image of another Google Classroom post by the teacher appeared to link to a video about claims of widespread voter fraud.
Burlington Area School District聽has placed the teacher, whom it hasn鈥檛 named and who used personal days for his travels, on paid administrative leave pending an investigation. Legal experts say this is standard.聽
When the district posted a聽聽to its Facebook page Jan. 7, one user wrote that the district had no right to discipline the teacher. Another seemed displeased with the district鈥檚 鈥渘on-action approach.鈥�
Meanwhile, the district聽investigation is widening its scope beyond an assignment posted to Google Classroom the week of Jan. 6,听according to spokeswoman Julie Thomas.聽
In an email to the Monitor, Mr. Taff鈥檚 attorney, Todd Terry, said the teacher prioritizes his students鈥� education. He added that his client is cooperating with the investigation while defending himself against 鈥渕isinformation, venom and outright lies.鈥�
Ms. Wilson, the 10th grader鈥檚 mom, says she has broader concerns than the initial Google Classroom post. She says the family has reported other allegations of politicized remarks made by the teacher during class.聽
Responding to a question about how districts can engage constructively with their communities during a time of political polarization,听Ms. Thomas said via email that schools can create 鈥渁 safe place to learn.鈥�
鈥淲e encourage our students and staff to be kind,鈥� she wrote.聽
Ms. Wilson鈥檚 fiance, Jon Phetteplace, was met with less than kindness after speaking out. The Burlington native began receiving online threats after publicly questioning Mr. Taff鈥檚 instruction.聽鈥淚t really doesn鈥檛 make us want to be part of the community anymore,鈥� he says.
First Amendment rights?聽
Educators aren鈥檛 the only ones facing fallout from Jan. 6. Since the pro-Trump march devolved into a siege that left five dead,听听补苍诲听聽employers countrywide have investigated and disciplined staff for potential wrongdoing.聽
School district employees in聽,听,听, and elsewhere have drawn scrutiny for their attendance. Some have publicly聽, including two bus drivers who聽聽a West Virginia superintendent after they were placed on paid leave.
Last summer鈥檚聽聽racial justice demonstrations also became a flashpoint for divisive politics in U.S. schools. A聽聽was placed on paid leave for hanging Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ posters in her classroom. In Vermont, a聽 聽was fired for Facebook comments related to the Black Lives Matter movement, which the school board found to be聽derogatory against African Americans.聽
Legal experts say聽public employees鈥� First Amendment rights are typically protected 鈥� unless they were found breaking the law.聽
鈥淚f you just went to DC, attended the rally, came home, and weren鈥檛 involved in any activities at the Capitol building itself, it鈥檚 highly likely there鈥檇 be nothing that the school district could do 鈥撀爀ven if they disagreed with you,鈥� says Jim Hanks, a retired education law attorney in West Des Moines, Iowa.聽
But some may have done more than that. So far, at least one educator faces criminal charges linked to the Capitol siege.聽
A former school occupational therapist from Ohio, Christine Priola was arrested and聽聽in federal court this month for unlawful activities at the Capitol. Social media users helped law enforcement identify her in photos from Jan. 6, when she allegedly appeared inside the Senate chamber with a sign spelled in red: THE CHILDREN CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE.
The following day, Ms. Priola sent a resignation letter to Cleveland Metropolitan School District that noted her plans to 鈥渆xpose the global evil of human trafficking and pedophilia鈥� allegedly in the government 鈥撀爀choing QAnon conspiracy theories. Ms. Priola did not respond to requests for comment.
Blowback in the community
Other factors complicate public school staff members鈥� rights. In a case involving a California state prosecutor,听the Supreme Court聽聽in 2006 that public employees鈥� speech is limited when made 鈥減ursuant to their official duties.鈥澛�
For districts weighing how to respond to what teachers do outside class, public blowback adds another twist. If a public employee鈥檚 First Amendment activity 鈥渃auses such disruption in a community that you are rendered ineffective as a teacher, you could lose your job鈥� or face other discipline, says Mr. Hanks.聽
For Jason Berry,听an elementary school P.E. teacher in聽Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, his presence at the Jan. 6 protests put him in an uncomfortable spotlight.聽But after his employer, the Susquehanna Township School District, investigated him, it said his actions聽聽鈥� and were protected by the First Amendment.聽
Mr. Berry says he鈥檚 grateful that he鈥檚 been cleared to keep teaching. 鈥淪usquehanna did a wonderful job and looked at the facts,鈥� he says.聽
Mr. Berry maintains that he did not engage in the Capitol violence, and the district confirmed it had approved his personal day off. That day, a 海角大神 TV network showed a video of him and his friends praying and worshipping at the rally. In the clip, Mr. Berry wears a Trump hat. A photo of the clip was then passed around social media out of context, he says.聽
A community member began an online聽聽Jan. 6 that called for Mr. Berry鈥檚 removal, pointing him out among 鈥渙ther maskless insurrectionists.鈥澛營t garnered over 5,000 supporters.聽A week later, the petition organizers clarified in a post that there was 鈥渘o current evidence鈥� to substantiate that the teacher was violent or stormed the Capitol.聽
Mr. Berry says he was religiously 鈥撀爊ot politically 鈥撀爉otivated to drive to Washington with church friends Jan. 6. He says he went to pray for the nation. 鈥淚t was a day when a lot of different decisions would be made, and so I thought it was a great opportunity to come up with believers and pray for the United States,鈥� says Mr. Berry, who is聽海角大神.聽
Mr. Berry says he鈥檚 moving on from the attack on his beliefs: 鈥淚 chose to forgive them.鈥�
In a Jan. 11聽,听Susquehanna superintendent Tamara Willis condemned the Capitol violence and said she welcomed the public鈥檚 concerns raised by the investigation.
鈥淚 am charged with making decisions for this school district in all of its diversity based upon evidence, even when emotions are running high and public opinion seemingly pressures us to do otherwise,鈥� she said.聽
Educators shouldn鈥檛 shy away from teaching these events, says Professor Decker from Indiana University.
鈥淲e need more civics education, not only for teachers and school employees, but also for students, so that people understand the limitations to their freedom of speech rights,鈥� she says.
