A Houston-area principal has been placed on administrative leave after announcing on her school’s intercom that students would no longer be permitted to speak Spanish in class.
Students at Hempstead Middle School said Principal Amy Lacey made the announcement back on Nov. 12, KHOU 11 News reported.
Three weeks later, the superintendent sent a letter home to students that said, “neither the district or any campus has any policy prohibiting the speaking of Spanish.”
A number of students believe the principal’s announcement will lead to discrimination.
“There’s one teacher that said, ’If you speak Spanish in my class, I’m going to write you up,’ ” eighth-grade student Tiffani Resurez told KHOU 11.
“People don’t want to speak it no more,” said sixth-grade student Kiara Lozano. “And they don’t want to get caught speaking it because they’re going to get in trouble,”
Hempstead Independent School District spokeswoman Laurie Bettis said the district is investigating Miss Lacey.
“The district has received allegations regarding this issue and the district is investigating the matter,” she said in a statement, KHOU 11 reported. “At this time the administrator is on administrative leave with pay until the investigation is completed and appropriate action is determined. This is all we can say at this time as there is a pending investigation on this matter.”
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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