Racist Paschal presentation invites comparisons to Georgia Clark case

Three years after the Fort Worth school district Board of Trustees fired a teacher for making anti-immigrant statements on Twitter, the board is again weighing whether to dismiss a teacher involved in a racist incident. District Superintendent Kent Scribner is recommending the board fire a Paschal High School teacher who failed to stop a student from delivering a class presentation in which the student repeated the N-word several times. A video of the presentation surfaced online earlier this month. The incident occurred a little over a year after a Texas appeals court upheld the 2019 termination of Fort Worth teacher Georgia Clark after she made anti-immigrant statements on Twitter. An employment law expert says the Paschal teacher’s case may not be as straightforward as Clark’s, but the district likely has the law on its side.

The Paschal video shows a student presenting what appears to be a reinterpretation of “Romeo and Juliet,” apparently resetting the play during the days of American slavery. During the presentation, the student repeats the N-word several times as some of his classmates laugh and others exclaim in surprise. Before the beginning of the presentation, the teacher tells the class that “the point is not to be offensive. It’s his interpretation.” Before launching into the presentation, the student warns classmates to leave the room if they get offended easily. The presentation lasts for nearly three minutes, during which time the teacher makes no move to stop the student. The district has not confirmed the teacher’s name. Claudia Garibay, a spokeswoman for the district, wouldn’t give information specific to the teacher. Typically, employees are placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, she said. Three students at Paschal told the Star-Telegram that the teacher didn’t return to school last week. The Star-Telegram submitted an open records request Tuesday for the teacher’s employment records. That request is pending.