A California middle school teacher has been put on leave as the school district investigates an incident in which racist materials, including “N-word bucks,” were doled out during a lesson.
The history teacher, who has not been named, works at Katherine Albiani Middle School in Elk Grove, California. As part of a lesson, the teacher allegedly circulated a piece of paper titled "History of the N-word” that included "N-word bucks," CBS13 first reported. The teacher was put on leave, Elk Grove Unified School District confirmed to The Independent.
This sheet also included a so-called dollar bill that included racist imagery and phrases, the outlet reported, as well as a warning that read: "Some of the content in this writing may be offensive to children.”
Elk Grove Unified School District told The Independent in a statement that it “does not condone the use of such materials,” as they “do not represent nor reflect the district’s core values.” The school district is conducting an investigation into the incident, including determining the origin of the materials.
“Upon completion of the investigation, the district will take appropriate corrective and restorative action,” the statement continued.
The middle school also sent a letter Monday to families outlining the "inappropriate materials containing racially offensive content."
Parents fumed over the “vague” letter during a Tuesday school board meeting. Discussions around this incident were not on the meeting’s agenda, but it was brought up by the community, the outlet reported.
"The N-word, the images, the stereotypes covering the bill were just crazy," one parent said.
"There's no possible way this can be framed as an educational endeavor," another parent said.
One district leader said an investigation into the matter was ongoing, but didn’t elaborate, according to CBS13.
