- A Texas teacher who took a photo putting their foot on a Black student's neck resigned.
- The photo was reportedly sent to the mother of a child as a joke, according to WFAA.
- The teacher was on leave before submitting their resignation, local news reported.
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A Greenville, Texas teacher who reportedly took a photo of their foot on the neck of a Black elementary student has reigned, according to FOX 4.
The image was texted to the 10-year-old student's mother, on Tuesday, when former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of killing George Floyd, FOX 4 reported.
The student's mother told WFAA that the picture was meant to be a joke and that the unidentified teacher said she would put her foot on the boy's neck if he did not turn in an assignment.
"I don't really understand the whole situation, but all I know is it was never supposed to happen," the student's father, Shamell told WFAA.
The photo shows the student laying on the ground, with the teacher's sneaker on top of the student.
-Alex Rozier (@RozierReports) April 21, 2021
The teacher was placed on leave for what the Greenville Independent School District called a "staged photo" amid an investigation, but resigned last week, WFAA reported.
"Today Greenville ISD accepted the resignation, effective immediately, of the teacher who took a picture of her foot on the neck of a student, provoking outrage in the community," the school district said in a statement Friday. According to the statement, officials were set to discuss the teacher's potential firing during an upcoming meeting on April 27.
"We deeply regret the distress this incident has caused, and I am accepting the teacher's resignation," Greenville ISD Superintendent Dr. Demetrus Liggins said in the statement. "Nonetheless we will report what occurred to the State Board of Certification. They will determine what action might be taken concerning her teaching certificate."
Liggins told FOX 4 that the photo was "poor judgment" by the teacher.
"I personally don't believe there was any malicious intent or racial issue there. It was just poor, poor judgment and an extremely inappropriate thing to do," Liggins told the outlet.