Tell lawmakers: Don’t handcuff teachers!

Last March, a veteran teacher in Baker, Louisiana was arrested, handcuffed, taken from school in a police car and jailed.

Why?

An eighth grader ignored the teacher’s request that he tuck in his shirt tail (a violation of school rules) and tried to slip past the teacher into her classroom. She took hold of his shirt tail to stop him.

The child’s parent notified the police, and by the time a law officer arrived at the school, newspaper reporters were already on the scene.

The police officer could have issued a misdemeanor summons asking the teacher to appear and answer to the parent’s charges. Instead, the teacher was hauled off to jail.

The district attorney refused to prosecute the case, but the damage to the teacher’s reputation was done. She had been humiliated in front of her students and peers.

There is now a bill in the legislature that would ensure this does not happen again.

Please click here to learn more about HB 1108 and ask your Representative to vote FOR the bill!