FORT WORTH, Texas — Fort Worth Independent School District Superintendent Kent Scribner is recommending that a teacher be fired after a video involving a student using “racially insensitive” language has been circulating online.
Scribner in a statement Thursday said he was "disgusted by the inexcusable behavior that took place" recently in a Paschal High School classroom.
The 3-minute and 18-second cellphone video is grainy in quality. It’s unclear who took the video. The district said the video shows a student repeatedly using the N-word, other racial slurs, and derogatory references during what appears to be a classroom presentation.
"There is no place for this kind of language in our society, much less in our schools," Scribner said. "I am appalled by the conduct of the adult in the room and saddened by the message that it sends to our students."
“The point is not to be offensive. It’s his interpretation,” a teacher in the room is heard saying at one point during the recording.
Scribner said he was is recommending to the Fort Worth school board that the teacher supervising the students "no longer be employed by Fort Worth ISD."
The names of the teacher and the student have not been released.
In the letter, the district said, “This was inexcusable. The language used in the video is neither acceptable nor representative of Paschal High School or any other school in the Fort Worth ISD.”
The district also said staff at Paschal High School along with the administration was taking the incident seriously, and that the appropriate action will be taken after the investigation is over.
The district ended the letter to parents by saying it was “committed to preserving an environment where all students feel respected and safe.”
While the district didn't confirm what the classroom assignment was, parents told WFAA that students were asked to write and present their interpretations of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
A group of clergy members and community members gathered outside the high school campus Thursday morning.
“What kind of school district is this, where this kind of thing is allowed to go on,” asked Michael Bell, as he addressed the video that’s making its rounds on social media.
As the news began to circulate, members of an organization called Ministers of Justice Coalition of Texas and the Pastors for Progress also announced they would hold a news conference Thursday to denounce the remarks made in the video.
“Who would give such an assignment in the current climate?” asked Pastor Kyev Tatum.
Clergy and community members are issuing some demands to Fort Worth ISD. In addition to filing a federal civil rights complaint, they are demanding certain school staff be fired. They are also calling for more district-wide training.
The school board met during a special board meeting Thursday evening, but the Paschal High School issue wasn't on the agenda and it wasn't brought up.