According to the city’s school district, a teacher in El Paso, Texas, is on administrative leave and facing termination after telling students to refer to Paedophiles as “minor-attracted persons” in an incident captured on video and shared on social media.
The Franklin High School teacher can be heard telling students in an 18-second clip to “Stop referring to them as that. You are not permitted to label people in this manner.”
“We’re not gonna call them that,” the teacher is heard saying in the video. “We’re gonna call them MAPs, minor-attracted persons. So don’t judge people just because they wanna have sex with a 5-year-old.”
The El Paso Teachers Association identified the teacher as Amber Parker, who teaches English at Franklin High School.
It’s unclear what happened before the 18-second video or the context of the exchange. The El Paso Independent School District refused to comment on what prompted the classroom discussion.
The incident was reported to the school district early last week, and an investigation was immediately launched, according to Liza Rodriguez, a spokesperson for the district.
“After a thorough investigation was conducted, on September 6, 2022, during a Special Board Meeting, the Board of Trustees approved a decision to notify a Franklin High School teacher of the proposed termination,” she said. “Any allegation of potential misconduct is investigated thoroughly, and the safety of our students is a top priority.”
The school district refused to release the results of its investigation or any other information, claiming that the incident was a “personal matter.”
The trustees unanimously voted to initiate termination procedures against the teacher, with the next step being “an appeals process governed by the Texas Education Code,” according to Al Velarde, president of the board. According to Rodriguez, the teacher is now on paid administrative leave pending termination.
Before the vote on Tuesday, Vice President Daniel Call of the board stated that the classroom exchange was taken out of context.
On the other hand, Call said he changed his mind after being briefed on the school district’s findings following their investigation on Tuesday.
“Initially, I was shocked and horrified when I saw the video,” he said. “Then, when I heard she was trying to be sarcastic, I felt bad for her. However, when the district’s investigation into this situation helped me understand the full story, I do not doubt that terminating this teacher is the right thing to do. Any reasonable person who heard the investigation results would vote to terminate her.”
Call refused to discuss the investigation details that led to his change of heart about the incident.
El Paso Teachers Association President Norma De La Rosa said the union’s legal staff advised her not to comment on the incident.
“I will be more than happy to comment once the teacher has had an opportunity to appeal and that process is complete,” she said. “I am certain I will have plenty to comment by then.”
