Student teacher says Beaverton School District discriminated against him | OregonLive.com
" Beaverton student teacher is claiming discrimination after Beaverton School District asked that he be re-assigned over a conversation he had with a student.
Seth Stambaugh told a fourth-grader who asked if he was married, that he was not. When the student asked why, Stambaugh, who is gay, replied it was not legal for him to get married because he would choose to marry another man. The student then asked does that mean you like to hang out with other guys? and Stambaugh responded yes, said Lake Perriguey, Stambaugh's attorney.
The parent of a student who overheard the conversation complained, Perriguey said, and district administrators asked Stambaugh's advisors at Lewis & Clark College to find him another school.
Perriguey said the parent who complained had already raised an issue about Stambaugh's appearance, which Perriguey described as pressed pants, an oxford shirt, a tie and a cardigan. Stambaugh has a light Van Dyke and pulls his hair back into a pony tail.
Stambaugh, 23, has not filed a lawsuit and is expected to be placed in another school district soon, but he and his attorney believe district administrators acted improperly.
Beaverton School District spokeswoman Maureen Wheeler said the decision was not discriminatory.
It was based on "concerns about a conversation he had with a fourth-grade student," Wheeler said. "Our concerns were about the professional judgment and age appropriateness."
Wheeler said the district's "policy and practice is non-discrimination. We train on this issue." But student teachers, also known as interns, are not employees and the district does not have policies dealing with them.
Wheeler said Lewis & Clark is responsible for its student teachers.
Lewis & Clark issued a statement Wednesday in which Scott Fletcher, Dean of the Graduate School of Education and Counseling, said part of the teacher training curriculum includes "how and when to disclose any personal information. There is no doubt that the issue of GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender) teachers coming out in elementary and secondary schools is unjustly complicated by a heteronormative culture" -- a belief system that assumes heterosexuality is the norm. "
the rest is at link.
I will agree i think the student teacher could of answer the question a bit better. but at the same time when can a parent judge you on appearance. i am guessing he or she was really jelous of the pony tail the guy had. anyways the student teacher did nothing wrong.
I like to see this parent and really just insult them on what there wearing and judge them that way see how they like it. How about teach your child not to ask things that our personal to other people? hum.... Be a parent not a wuss
"Beaverton School District spokeswoman Maureen Wheeler said the decision was not discriminatory. "
i call bs on that. trying to save your own butt so you don't get sued.
" Beaverton student teacher is claiming discrimination after Beaverton School District asked that he be re-assigned over a conversation he had with a student.
Seth Stambaugh told a fourth-grader who asked if he was married, that he was not. When the student asked why, Stambaugh, who is gay, replied it was not legal for him to get married because he would choose to marry another man. The student then asked does that mean you like to hang out with other guys? and Stambaugh responded yes, said Lake Perriguey, Stambaugh's attorney.
The parent of a student who overheard the conversation complained, Perriguey said, and district administrators asked Stambaugh's advisors at Lewis & Clark College to find him another school.
Perriguey said the parent who complained had already raised an issue about Stambaugh's appearance, which Perriguey described as pressed pants, an oxford shirt, a tie and a cardigan. Stambaugh has a light Van Dyke and pulls his hair back into a pony tail.
Stambaugh, 23, has not filed a lawsuit and is expected to be placed in another school district soon, but he and his attorney believe district administrators acted improperly.
Beaverton School District spokeswoman Maureen Wheeler said the decision was not discriminatory.
It was based on "concerns about a conversation he had with a fourth-grade student," Wheeler said. "Our concerns were about the professional judgment and age appropriateness."
Wheeler said the district's "policy and practice is non-discrimination. We train on this issue." But student teachers, also known as interns, are not employees and the district does not have policies dealing with them.
Wheeler said Lewis & Clark is responsible for its student teachers.
Lewis & Clark issued a statement Wednesday in which Scott Fletcher, Dean of the Graduate School of Education and Counseling, said part of the teacher training curriculum includes "how and when to disclose any personal information. There is no doubt that the issue of GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender) teachers coming out in elementary and secondary schools is unjustly complicated by a heteronormative culture" -- a belief system that assumes heterosexuality is the norm. "
the rest is at link.
I will agree i think the student teacher could of answer the question a bit better. but at the same time when can a parent judge you on appearance. i am guessing he or she was really jelous of the pony tail the guy had. anyways the student teacher did nothing wrong.
I like to see this parent and really just insult them on what there wearing and judge them that way see how they like it. How about teach your child not to ask things that our personal to other people? hum.... Be a parent not a wuss
"Beaverton School District spokeswoman Maureen Wheeler said the decision was not discriminatory. "
i call bs on that. trying to save your own butt so you don't get sued.