St. Lucie School Board suspends teacher who let class vote out ...

The St. Lucie County School Board voted unanimously Tuesday night to suspend without pay Morningside Elementary School teacher Wendy Portillo for one year after she allowed her kindergarteners to vote on ...

[yeagators]

Barton in June put the St. Lucie County School District on notice she intends to file a civil lawsuit, claiming discrimination and Alex's civil rights were violated. She said she expects a lawsuit will be filed by the end of this year.

While Ithink the teacher's method was inappropriate and short sighted, how was he discriminated against or his civil rights violated?????

Another BS lawsuit from money grubbing, media hounding parents it seems...

[LaVertis]

She was just trying to modify tis childs behavior. Right or wrong, I don't think there was any malice to this act. the punishment is BS

[Jeff]

Maybe Ms. Portillo listens to that conservative radio host who thinks autism is a scam. Otherwise, she would have treated the child with more sensitivity.

[Cop]

LaVertis wrote:

She was just trying to modify tis childs behavior. Right or wrong, I don't think there was any malice to this act. the punishment is BS

The teacher did a great job the kids a p[an in the a88. This is a great place to start in kindergarten hey kid your an a88hole, if your act like a jerk you will be voted out of everything until you and up in jail.So mommy got a teacher fired for being aggressive in telling a kid behave.Shame on the school board. shame on the mother/drug user. Bad kids should be in bad kid class or at home.

[Mom]

Get this bad seed away from good kids.

[two sides]

I feel bad for austic kids/their parents...but, it is not the responsbility of the other 30 kids to not get anything done..just so some mother can feel like her kid is main streamed!! the so called "rights" OF ONE STUDENT does not outweight the other 29 kids!! special classes for special needs ! sorry, just the way it should be!! some of these kids of no chance , it is sad but that is the reality! they need to be cared for! but, not be allowed to sink the ship!

[More stupid people]

Well if you all had autistic children your attitude would be totally different. Let's pray none of you ever have an autistic child.

[Janet]

Mrs. Portillo has done nothing wrong. This kid had been sent to the office twice that day and was returned to the classroom. If you have 16 kids and out of those 16, 14 are saying that they don't want his disruptive behavior in the classroom, I would do the same thing, take him out the class. If he has special needs, maybe he should be in a different environment where there are similar kids, they focus more on his needs and his behavior won't disrupt the children's learning experience.

[Barry]

yeagators wrote:

Barton in June put the St. Lucie County School District on notice she intends to file a civil lawsuit, claiming discrimination and Alex's civil rights were violated. She said she expects a lawsuit will be filed by the end of this year.
While Ithink the teacher's method was inappropriate and short sighted, how was he discriminated against or his civil rights violated?????
Another BS lawsuit from money grubbing, media hounding parents it seems.****

Bingo! Another case of an attorney talking through his dummy, oops, client.

[A1ACharles uber alles]

What an imbecile.

[George]

woody hayes wrote:

I have a similar story. I remember when I was voted president of my kindergarten class it was because all the other kids were autistic. I ran on a platform of change. But back then we didn't know there was a term for it other than stoopid.

Yo are great !!! those were another times, now the school system lowers the bar, so anyone can pass. So, if you would assist to the same school today, be ready to became autistic.

[George]

two sides wrote:

I feel bad for austic kids/their parents.**** but, it is not the responsbility of the other 30 kids to not get anything done.**** just so some mother can feel like her kid is main streamed!! the so called "rights" OF ONE STUDENT does not outweight the other 29 kids!! special classes for special needs ! sorry, just the way it should be!! some of these kids of no chance , it is sad but that is the reality! they need to be cared for! but, not be allowed to sink the ship!

Well said.

[George]

klatu wrote:

ignorant comments to this article from an inferior life form known as man

What are doing reading the SunSentinel?

[Jasper]

The teacher could have gotten some support from the school administration. Obviously, she was at her wits end, especially after removing the child twice in one day. The child should have been sent home. This teacher should be reinstated immediately, with back pay. It is enormously difficult raising an autistic child. It is possible, however, for a parent to work on the child's behavioral issues so that he/she will generally behave in a positive manner during the school day. Parents need to discipline their child and stop relying on teachers to do it. The teachers' hands are tied in so many ways. I could not be an elementary teacher in today's political climate. A teacher must have an iron will and a huge amount of restraint to deal with their students and then come dealing with the parents. It is many times a thankless job.
This teacher needs to go back to being a teacher.

[RDC]

While I think the kid should have been sent out of the class, there was no need for a "vote" to do so. That's just a little mean spirited. The child staying in the class was doing him, as well as the rest of the class, a disservice. Obviously, there is no way he could get specialized attention from a teacher that isn't trained to deal with special needs students. Also, he was humming for 20 minutes. I can only imagine how much that disturbed the rest of the class and the teacher's efforts to TEACH.

[Chris]

Well its certainly a good thing that the child is now out of a classroom environment where it didn't belong in the first place. Its especially good news for the other students. I'm so incredibly politicaly incorrect as to believe they have rights too. I'd suggest the teacher pursue a career in private schools where the emphasis is on education instead of politics.

[WhatDaHek]

This child belongs in special ed. Gangsta's belong in jail. Non-English speaking students belong in remedial English. Lawyers belong at the bottom of the sea....

[ft laud]

usa needs more schools only for autistic kids. i have a autistic kid in my family some times the behavia is very difficult to deal with

[Helen]

This teacher clearly needs to be trained on how to handle "special needs" children in her class. I think reinstating her in a year before she get the help that "she" deserves will just be another lawsuit waiting to happen.

[Pa3cia]

She has no business in a classroom.
She singled out this child, and if she was still teaching she'd continue to do that.
Life has its twists, I'm sure she'll encounter a situation very dear to her where someone is born with Autism. I'd like to see her feedback.