A California teacher who was fired after he gave failing marks to several students who walked out of class to participate in a March for Our Lives walkout is suing the school district for being unlawfully punished for his political speech.
David Kissner is accusing the Loma Prieta Joint Union School District and numerous school officials of “unlawful and unconstitutional abuse of its power” against him, “not because he opposed the political cause being promoted but because he opposed the District breaking the law and violating the Constitution,” the lawsuit reads, according to the Oroville Mercury-Register.
Kissner claims he was personally attacked, laid off, and then fired because he disagreed with how school officials handled the nationwide March for Our Lives walkout in 2018. The gun-control group encouraged high school and college students to leave class for 17 minutes on March 14, and some of the students in Kissner’s middle school math class decided to participate.
Kissner had pre-scheduled a quiz for that date, and one parent complained after his daughter received a failing grade for walking out of class during the quiz.
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The district at first encouraged teachers to treat walkout students like other students who skipped class but later instructed teachers not to penalize March for Our Lives students, Kissner claims.
In 2018, Superintendent Corey Kidwell admitted that he instructed teachers not to penalize students who participated in the walkout.
Kissner was subjected to extensive news coverage for his decision to treat March for Our Lives students like other absent students, and he claims the district defamed him by suggesting that he groomed minors for sexual exploitation.
Kissner denied the claims, and called the accusations “atrocious” and “politically motivated.”
“It’s the worst thing that anybody could do to somebody else,” he said.
“These charges were outrageous and resulted in the permanent loss of his standing in the community, which he was forced to leave,” his lawsuit says.
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Kissner has always claimed that students should be free to protest, but he doesn’t think they should be treated differently from other students who miss class.
“They can protest, it’s not a matter of debate,” he said, adding, “Wouldn’t any student expect that if they walked out of class it would affect their grade?”
He’s also taken issue with a publicly funded school taking such a strong position on a highly contentious political issue.
“When a publicly funded school promotes one side of a highly divisive political issue, we undermine the very Constitution that protects the right we so cherish,” he said in 2018.
All the sane Californians are leaving shit they know how fucked up things are there. it’s all the whacko’s that are causing this bullshit. Just like all the New Yorkers and moving to Florida LOL
Commiefornia never fails to disappoint.
“Commiefornia never fails to disappoint.”
you can say that again when the hell is it gonna break off and float away.
Students CHOSE to walk out on a day they were given a quiz and got failing grades because they missed that quiz so the teacher gets fired. Am I missing something here? Ohhhh, “in California,” now this makes sense. I didn’t remember it was in my home state. The same irony as I have keeping my properties safe. I have to signs posted at each and every driveway that says it’s illegal to do illegal activities on my private properties (penal code numbers must be included) so the police can enforce the laws being broke on said properties.
If they see it and you do not have 1) signs posted at each and every driveway and 2) send the area substation a “renewal letter” every 6mo, our LEOs cannot even go on said property to enforce the law.
If that sounds like a riddle of some sorts…no, it’s California. Land of the whackos!
So why are you still there?
Good for him. Hope his lawsuits are successful. It’s time for teachers to gain control of their classrooms again. Most especially a teacher who stands firm on our Constitution.