Forget guns. Now, schools are banning simple tools.
A second-grade teacher is suing a Chicago public school district after he was suspended — for using tools in a curriculum-mandated class lesson on tools.
Washington Irving Elementary School teacher Doug Bartlett was suspended without pay for four days during the 2011-2012 school year. He was charged with possessing, carrying, storing or using a weapon.
Bartlett has been teaching for 17 years.
While Bartlett never permitted his students to play with or even hold the tools, the school claimed he put his class in danger when he brought in a pocket knife, a box cutter, wrenches, screwdrivers and pliers.
In the complaint filed last week, Bartlett’s lawyer from the Rutherford Institute, a nonprofit that defends civil liberties and human rights, claims the teacher “suffered humiliation, embarrassment, mental suffering, and lost wages, and was suspended for four days”
The complaint also demands “nominal and compensatory damages” and request the incident be removed from Bartlett’s record.
“This school district’s gross overreaction to a simple teaching demonstration on basic tools such as wrenches and pliers underscores exactly what is wrong with our nation’s schools,” Rutherford Institute Pres. John Whitehead told CNS News. “What makes this case stand out from the rest is that this latest victim of zero tolerance policies run amok happens to be a veteran school teacher.”
Bartlett is also arguing the school violated his Fourth Amendment rights that defends against “unreasonable searches and seizures.”
