Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute have filed a civil rights
lawsuit against a Chicago public school district on behalf of a
second-grade teacher who was suspended after he displayed garden-variety
tools such as wrenches, pliers and screwdrivers in his classroom as
part of a "tool discussion" in his class.
Despite the fact that all potentially hazardous items were kept out
of the students' reach, school officials at Washington Irving Elementary
School informed Doug Bartlett, a 17-year veteran in the classroom, that
his use of the tools as visual aids endangered his students. Bartlett
was subsequently penalized with a four-day suspension without pay -
charged with possessing, carrying, storing or using a weapon.
The complaint charges
that Bartlett "suffered humiliation, embarrassment, mental suffering,
and lost wages, and was suspended for four days" - and asks for "nominal
and compensatory damages" and for the suspension to be expunged from
the teacher's record.
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