- A Pennsylvania teacher was fired after placing tape on a student's nose, per multiple reports.
- The tape had a message that said: "I have nothing nice to say."
- The Coatesville Area School District decided to terminate Audra Ritter on Tuesday.
A Pennsylvania teacher was terminated from her job after she reportedly taped a student's face and was accused by the school district of racially discriminating against the child.
The Coatesville Area School District voted to fire Audra Ritter, who was a special education teacher in the North Brandywine Middle School and president of the district's teachers association, earlier this week, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The district school board ended up voting 7-1 at Tuesday's meeting resulting in Ritter's dismissal.
Ritter was accused of placing a piece of tape that read, "I have nothing nice to say" on the student's nose in May, Lancaster Online reported citing a statement of charges. Per the report, Ritter said that she placed art tape — not duct — on the child and did so as a joke to alleviate a situation involving the student.
The district said the unidentified student, who is Black, was humiliated as a result of the incident and asked the school principal to be excused from the special education teacher's class, per CBS Philly. The district also accused Ritter, who is white, of "threatening retaliation" against the middle schooler, a claim which she denied, according to Lancaster Online.
In the statement of charges, the school district said Ritter"is in violation of the behavioral management plan and services for this child," adding that the teacher "has violated federal and state law by failing to comply with and properly implement the child's IEP and behavioral plan," Lancaster Online reported.
According to the Inquirer, two individuals spoke on Ritter's behalf at the meeting, pointing to her position in the teacher's association.
"I love the Coatesville Area School District. I love the students here and I have been here for 23 years," Ritter said, per Lancaster Online. "I've taken pride in the district and in the students here, but I do have a family and I will have to move on. I will see how arbitration goes, but I will have to obviously start looking for a job."