TRI In The News
Toolbox Proves to Be Can of Worms
8/29/2011
TRI IN THE NEWS: TOOLBOX PROVES TO BE CAN OF WORMS
From One News Now
Original article available here.
Because of another extreme zero-tolerance policy, a Chicago elementary school teacher has been accused of possessing weapons at school and could possibly lose his job.
Second-grade teacher Doug Bartlett brought a toolbox full of garden-variety tools for a required "tool discussion" at school. But when it was learned a small knife and a box cutter were among the items, Bartlett was told he is under investigation for "possessing and using weapons." John Whitehead of The Rutherford Institute explains.
"If he's found guilty, he will be reprimanded or terminated for doing what teachers have been doing since the beginning of teaching, which is using tools," says the attorney.
Whitehead adds that any legal action could permanently scar Bartlett's teaching record or end his 17-year career. So, The Rutherford Institute is warning the school that such disciplinary action under the given circumstances could constitute a violation of the instructor's 14th Amendment right to due process, and the firm is asking officials at Washington Irving Elementary School to end its investigation.
"What we see happening here at The Rutherford Institute is America, generally we're off course; we're going in a really kind of strange, very bad way," Whitehead laments.
But he argues that curriculum requires teachers to use visual aids. According to Whitehead, when Bartlett's toolbox was not in use, it was locked and put on a high shelf where students could not reach it.
