JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A Richland High School teacher who showed an R-rated film to students and later was forced to resign has filed a federal complaint alleging discrimination.
Mary Porter filed the charge against the Rankin County School District through the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
While not a lawsuit, her complaint alleges violation of law, The Clarion-Ledger reported (https://on.thec-l.com/1jDtCfP).
Porter, an English teacher, said principal Richard Sutton gave her the choice of resigning or being fired days after she showed the movie “Dolan’s Cadillac” to her 10th-grade students. She challenges the procedure.
The district, in a statement after Porter’s filing, said it “does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, religion, age, handicap, national origin or veteran status.”
The district had said Porter resigned voluntarily while administrators were investigating after a parent of one of the students who saw the movie complained.
Porter has said showing the movie was an error in judgment.
District officials initially said Porter violated policy by not first getting Sutton’s permission to show the movie.
Assistant Superintendent Richard Morrison later clarified that the procedure requires teachers to clear movies through principals and that the movies must be in lesson plans and have a connection to the Mississippi curriculum framework.
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Information from: The Clarion-Ledger, https://www.clarionledger.com
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