Southeastern refutes ACLU claim in student teacher settlement
Contact: Rene Abadie
10/4/06
HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana University officials vehemently refuted statements by the ACLU of Louisiana regarding a dispute with a student who sued the university and the Tangipahoa Parish School Board over a failing grade given for her student teaching performance in spring 2005.
Calling the ACLU’s positions as “unfounded and inaccurate,” Southeastern President Randy Moffett said the claim that senior education major Cynthia Thompson had the credits to graduate is false. “She neither had the credit hours nor the clock hours of student teaching necessary to fulfill this requirement,” Moffett said.
In addition, the ACLU has stated that she was pulled out of the classroom after teaching all day and given an untenable ultimatum to withdraw or take an “F” in the course, Moffett said. “The fact is, Ms. Thompson voluntarily left the classroom and refused any offer by the university to obtain a withdrawal or ‘W’ grade. She was afforded the same opportunities any student would be offered who needed remediation before continuing student teaching, and she refused those opportunities. She was never given an ultimatum; the decision was hers and hers alone. She got an ‘F’ in the course when she refused the withdrawal opportunity.
“Nothing has been gained through months of litigation,” Moffett added. “The offer of a ‘W’ grade in the class was made to Ms. Thompson in April 2005 before the lawsuit was filed.”
Under the settlement agreement, Thompson is being given the same option offered to any student who is unsuccessful in their student teaching, namely to participate in a teacher development plan designed to help her improve her teaching skills. After completing this process, she would be offered another student teaching assignment and, if successful, be awarded her degree.
In addition, Moffett said, under the settlement, Southeastern is not providing any financial compensation or payment to Thompson or the ACLU.
“The ACLU and Ms. Thompson wrongfully accused Southeastern and attempted to tarnish its reputation as a first-class program for teacher preparation,” Moffett said. “We stated from the onset of this issue that we would not sacrifice our academic standards and expectations, even in the face of litigation. It is unfortunate that an academic grading matter, that can and should have been handled civilly between the student and the university, resulted in a lawsuit that unnecessarily consumed the state’s and the university’s time and resources.”
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