A father is considering legal action after his son was accused of being gay, and having fake girlfriends, in front of his entire classroom by his teacher. The incident took place at Nixon-Smiley High School in Nixon, Texas.
The father of the student (who has yet to be named by local news), states that the teacher admitted to the incident, stating that it was said because she assumed his son was gay based on “the way he looks”.
The student has since become a target for bullies since the comments were made, according to the father. He was compelled to file a complaint with the district and is currently looking into legal options.
He has since met with the school’s principal, an the teacher accused of the incident, and will soon sit down with the district superintendent. The district has launched an investigation into the matter. Although the teacher has apologised for her actions, the father wants to see her removed from her position.
The father doesn’t believe his son is gay, but he adds: “gay or straight is not the problem here. The problem is the teacher making a comment causing bullying in a school”.
Feeling compelled to share the story out of fear it might be swept under the rug, he contacted a local NBC News affiliate. The distrust of the district to take appropriate action was based and what he saw to be “small town politics” since the town only has 2,500 residents.
This case is an insight into attitudes towards LGBT+ individuals in US schools, with 92% of LGBT+ students saying that they’d heard negative messages about being LGBT+ at school according to a HRC Survey. The same survey revealed that they were twice as likely to be physically assaulted while at school than their straight counterparts.
