Tennessee teacher loses her job after taking ill student to hospital and paying her medical bill

A Tennessee teacher says she lost her job after taking an ill student to an emergency room and paying the bill.

Jennifer Mitts said school officials forced her to resign from her job at Red Bank High School after taking the 20-year-old student for hospital treatment.

Mitts said officials told her what to write in the letter of resignation and forced her to waive her right to a hearing, but school administrators said she chose to resign after she was threatened March 14 with suspension.

“They told me that before I made up my mind, if I’m fired, I’ll never work as a teacher ever again,” Mitts said. “They also said if I resign I could teach in other counties, but not Hamilton County, and still be able to salvage my teaching career.”

Officials said the 43-year-old Mitts had been in trouble for similar violations in the past.

WDEF-TV reported that Mitts had received several warnings, reprimands, and a five-day suspension for previous incidents and had been warned not to take students off campus.

“It’s a liability issue,” said Stacey Stewart, assistant superintendent of human resources for Hamilton County School District. “It’s an issue of insubordination after doing something you were officially warned not to do and doing it again.”

She said Mitts was never asked to waive her due process rights, but the former teacher disputes the administrator’s claims.

“I was not offered a suspension,” she said. “That is a total lie – fabrication.”

More here: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/04/02/tennessee-teacher-loses-her-job-after-taking-ill-student-to-hospital-and-paying-her-medical-bill/