Hawaii teacher: 'I won't teach' undocumented immigrants
abc News
A teacher for Hawaii's largest high school has been harshly criticized for
sending an email to staff at his school saying he was refusing to teach
immigrant students in the U.S. illegally.
Campbell High School teacher John Sullivan on Wednesday
used his work email to reply to a group of messages about parents keeping
students out of school due to fears of being deported.
"This is another attack on the President over
deportation," Sullivan's email said. "Their parents need to apply for
immigration like everyone else. If they are here in the U.S. illegally, I won't
teach them."
Officials declined to say whether Sullivan had been
disciplined by the school's principal but state
Department of Education spokeswoman Donalyn Dela Cruz said Sullivan's
message was "disheartening and concerning."
"We want to reiterate that the public school
system, we service all students," she said. "In this case, hopefully
lessons have been learned."
Sullivan later told KHON-TV that his email was worded
poorly. He said he meant to say that he cannot teach students who do not come
to class.
President Donald Trump last
month directed his administration to more aggressively enforce immigration laws
and to accelerate deportations of people in the country illegally.
Campbell Principal Jon Henry Lee emailed faculty and staff
hours after Sullivan sent his email, asking them not to use the school's email
system to express political opinions.
He also reminded faculty that a code of conduct
prohibits teachers from discriminating against student based on their nations
of origin.
"If a student is enrolled and registered in our
school we will service them to the best of our ability just like all other
students," Lee said.
Campbell High School is in Ewa Beach and has 3,125
students.
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