Original image by Igor Zakharevich, via Dreamstime.
An Oklahoma special needs student’s parents say their son’s fifth-grade teacher encouraged students to use an anti-gay slur directed at their son when he was roughhousing with another boy.
Amber and Jonathon Stepp, of Talihina, Oklahoma, say their son came home from school to ask his dad what the slur meant, to which Jonathon responded that ‘we don’t use those words.’ He then explained the meaning of the slur and the 11-year-old started crying.
“He asked me, ‘Daddy, why would you call me that?'” Jonathon told Fort Smith, Arkansas-based CBS affiliate KFSM. “I didn’t have an answer for my son.”
Their son said he had been wrestling and roughhousing with another boy, and that the teacher had encouraged the other student to use the slur against him.
The Stepps had more questions about the incident, so they went to the Talihina Elementary School principal, the superintendent, and the teacher for answers.
Amber Stepp says she recorded a phone conversation with the teacher in question, playing the recording for KFSM.
In the recording, the teacher is heard saying, “Two of the boys were wrestling with each other, and one of them started yelling, saying, ‘He’s touching me, he’s touching me,’ and I said, ‘Yeah, when he does that, yell “f** alert.”‘”
The Stepps say they were shocked by the teacher’s behavior.
“I never expected it to happen to anyone, let alone my own child,” Jonathon Stepp said. “I’m supposed to trust this professional to teach my son positive things, not hatred.”
KFSM confirmed that the Talihina Public School District launched an investigation, during which the Stepps’ son was sent home and could not receive the special ed services he requires.
In a statement, the school district claimed it had taken “appropriate action.”
“Talihina Public Schools values and takes student and employee safety very seriously. We have received this complaint and, in response, have completed an investigation and taken appropriate action,” the statement reads. “This teacher does remain employed in our school district. We cannot comment further as this involves confidential personnel and confidential student information.”
Amber Stepp said her son was then told to either return to the same classroom, or the option of an all-girl classroom. They school’s fifth grade is the only grade that separates students by their gender.
“It’s completely inappropriate to expect a child that’s been bullied by the teacher to return to that classroom, and completely inappropriate to put him in the middle of an all-girl classroom,” she said. “I feel like the school has completely failed all the children that has been affected by this.”
The Stepps added that they have reached out to the Oklahoma Department of Education and are waiting for it to complete its investigation.
A gay former student at a Catholic high school has filed a federal lawsuit accusing administrators of ignoring relentless bullying and harassment by members of the school's storied football team.
The lawsuit, filed by a student identified as "Grandson Rudolph" and his legal guardian, "Grandmother Rudolph," alleges that administrators shielded football players from discipline, prioritizing their protection over the safety of other students, according to CBS affiliate WTRF.
Filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, the suit names Ursuline High School, Assistant Principal Margaret Damore, and the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown as defendants.
An interracial gay couple who run an award-winning farm in King George County, Virginia, say they were the targets of a hate-filled act after someone deliberately dumped medical waste on their property following last week’s state elections.
Kevin Graham, 44, and Dragan Kurbalija, 47, own Gardening Gays Farm, a 27-acre property along U.S. Route 301 where they sell flowers, eggs, seasonal produce, and pasture-raised meats, including lamb and chicken.
They also sell jams, sauces, teas, herbal remedies, local honey, handcrafted candles, and other artisan goods at their on-site store, and share their experiences as farmers on YouTube. The business was recently voted King George County’s “Overall Best Business,” “Best Family-Owned Business,” and “Best Agricultural Business” in a county-sponsored “Best of the Best” contest.
A transgender teaching assistant at the University of Oklahoma has been placed on leave after a conservative student accused both the assistant and the course's professor of discriminating against her for citing the Bible in an essay that received a zero.
The student, OU junior Samantha Fulnecky, a psychology major, had been assigned a 650-word essay reacting to a study on whether children's popularity correlates with how closely they conform to prescribed gender norms, reports Oklahoma-based NPR station KOSU.
The study -- Gender Typicality, Peer Relations and Mental Health -- found that popular children are more likely to be described as "gender-typical" by their peers than children who are frequently teased. Among those who are teased, young boys show the worst mental health outcomes.
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