Doggone Laws
A blind teacher recently reached a settlement with the Baltimore City Public Schools in an employment discrimination lawsuit. The teacher had filed a complaint with the Justice Department, claiming that Westside Elementary School withdrew her job offer after she indicated that her guide dog would accompany her to class. The district agreed to adopt new anti-discrimination policies and pay $55,000 to the teacher, who now works, with dog, in a neighboring school system.
Boom Bust
Talk about bombing a school assignment. Colorado police confiscated a high school student’s science project in January after an anonymous caller claimed the experiment—a demonstration of energy transfer using a test tube containing fertilizer and diesel—was an explosive. Although the device was not functional, it contained all the ingredients necessary to detonate, the New York Times reports. The district suspended the teacher who had approved the project.
Prying Poll
What do little kids think about sex? A California therapist wanted to know and got permission to poll 20 students in the 1st, 3rd, and 5th grades, at the Mesquite School in Palmdale in January. However, when the kids shared the questions with their parents, the adults complained about the intimacy of the inquiry, and the district stopped the study, the Associated Press reports. One parent who permitted her child to participate says she was told the survey would be a general psychological exam.
Write Off
Ohio teacher Sue Samoviski was excited when President Bush signed the education reform bill on her desk at Hamilton High School in January. Little did she suspect that the government wouldn’t give it back. After the event, the Cox News Service reports, White House aides told Samoviski they were taking the desk, which the administration plans to display in a museum or Bush’s library. The teacher says she’s honored.
