TRI In The News
Ex-Springfieldian Suspended as Teacher in 'Weapon' Controversy
9/30/2011
TRI IN THE NEWS: EX-SPRINGFIELDIAN SUSPENDED AS TEACHER IN 'WEAPON' CONTROVERSY
From The State Journal-Register
Original article available here.
Ex-Springfieldian Doug Bartlett is facing suspension from his teaching job.
In a decision handed down a couple of days ago, Doug was given a suspension of four days without pay for bringing weapons to school. As I reported Sept. 3, the weapons in this case were common household tools Doug used as visual aids for his second-graders at Washington Irving Elementary School in Chicago.
His case has gone viral, as people from around the country have pounced on it as an example of bureaucratic overreaction and a lack of common sense.
Doug played football for the old Griffin High School in the early 1980s. He went on to star as a lineman at Northern Illinois University and spent a short time in the NFL. He was inducted into the Springfield Sports Hall of Fame in 2002. His mother, Pat, still lives in Springfield. Neither she nor Doug can comment on this case because it's still ongoing.
Doug's case attracted the attention of the Rutherford Institute, a Virginia-based organization that provides legal assistance for people who, in the institute's opinion, face violations of their rights. It had Chicago attorney Stephen Carlson of the Sidley Austin law firm representing Doug at his hearing.
Nisha Whitehead, spokeswoman for the institute, says the suspension was handed down by school principal Valeria Newell Bryant. An appeal is planned, and Doug's suspension will be delayed pending the outcome of the appeal.
Frank Shuftan, a spokesman for the Chicago Public School District, said the district could not confirm or deny whether Doug was given a suspension because the district doesn't comment on individual cases.
"However," Shuftan added, "any teacher who receives a suspension from his or her principal can appeal that ruling to the Office of Employee Relations."
I was unable to learn whether a hearing is scheduled on the appeal.
Though Doug and his mother and the school district can't say anything about the case yet, the Rutherford Institute sure can.
"The charges against Doug Bartlett are absurd," said Rutherford's founder and president John W. Whitehead, "a gross overreaction to a simple teaching demonstration and underscore what's wrong with zero tolerance policies in the schools."
Rutherford contends that Doug, with 17 years of experience as a teacher, had no intention of using any of the tools, which included a box cutter and a 2-inch knife, as weapons. The institute said he has used some of the same tools in his classroom for years without any trouble. He brought them to class on Aug. 8 because the curriculum requires a "tool discussion."
It's safe to say that Doug did not intend the gardening tools to be considered weapons, nor did he feel they put his students in any danger. So about the only way his suspension makes sense is if there is a policy in the district that prohibits bringing tools to class or if teachers at Washington Irving were told not to bring tools to class because they could be used as weapons. (But, then, so can a pencil or piece of chalk.)
If there is no such rule, then this suspension doesn't make much sense.
