Doug Bartlett, a veteran teacher with an upstanding record of 17 years, has filed a lawsuit against the school district of Chicago for suspending him without pay after giving a lesson on gardening tools to his second grade students.
The incident took place on August 8, 2011 at Washington Irving Elementary School.
Mr. Bartlett recently filed suit on April 17, 2013 saying that he suffered humiliation and embarrassment as a result of his reprimand.
The “hazardous” tools in question were pliers, screwdrivers and wrenches that only the teacher handled. The tools were kept in a locked toolbox high on a shelf out of reach before and after the gardening lesson.
The district says that Mr. Bartlett exhibited negligence in supervising the children and for “possessing, carrying, storing, or using a weapon”. Â He was subsequently suspended without pay for 4 days.
Mr. Bartlett’s lawsuit claims the suspension violated his Fourteenth Amendment right to due process as he asserts that there was never a full hearing on the incident. Â Further, he was disciplined without ever having the opportunity to plead his case.
According to the Rutherford Institute which is representing him, Mr. Bartlett is seeking damages and requesting the suspension be expunged from his teaching record.
It is important to have electronic records in order as the charge of possessing a “weapon”, in this case gardening tools, has the potential to prevent Mr. Bartlett from seeking employment elsewhere.
The incident is yet another example of an over the top reaction by school officials demonstrating poor judgment and a gross lack of common sense.
A related story occurred in the Fall of 2012 when the Vice Principal of a California school suspended a boy for bringing kombucha in his lunchbox.  With no parent or guardian present at any time, the boy was interrogated in the school office by school administration and a police officer and was ultimately suspended for 5 days for “violating” the school’s drug and alcohol policy. No tests were ever performed on the beverage which is able to be legally purchased by minors at local stores.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Teacher Who Showed Garden Tools to Second Grade Students is Suspended Without Pay
Ridiculous
so stupid, this world is unbelieveable
hahahaha…. not funny….really not funny…. I got hate mail once because my neighbors thought my clothes line was an eye sore…. what is this world coming to.
The death of common sense
This is just crazy. Unbelievable. If you think about it, anything can be a weapon. That school is going overboard. The tools were meant for gardening.
It would be hilarious if it weren’t so sad.
omg
Unbelievable.
They make versions of garden tools for kids. Is there more to this story?
As a guardian for a mentally retarded man, I wish people would not use this term in this manner. Just saying.
Elizabeth, I have always been sensitive to mentally or physically challenged people, so, I do know where you are coming from. That said, I think the use of the word “retarded” can just mean backwards about a subject, not a person. I really believe that Tracy didn’t mean any disrespect. This is not about people being stupid; it is about the failure to think and comprehend a situation that requires some degree of common sense/wisdom. Sadly, our society is lacking terribly in this area. I have known some “special needs” people who had way more sense than the people in this story, excluding the teacher who was unjustly accused.
I’m the mother of a severely disabled daughter, who had a catastrophic genetic syndrome and died at age seven. I’m not offended. Just saying.
I also have a severely retarded brother, he is special, sweet and I love him dearly, I am not offended either. We are so offended at everything, which goes right along with this teacher story, we’re so afraid to do or say anything to offend anyone/everyone, that we can’t even think logically any more.
Good for you, I totally agree, it is nice to see someone else who is tired of all this silly correctness.