Hearing-impaired teacher in Texas suspended because she talked to reporter about alleged discrimination

From The Dallas Morning News:

CARROLLTON, Texas – The Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD superintendent suspended a hearing-impaired teacher over a visit to her classroom by a Dallas Morning News reporter looking into the teacher's allegations that the district had threatened her job because of her disability.

The district has questioned whether Kathleen Nosek can administer pronunciation tests to her special-education students without assistance – help that has been provided to her for years.

Nosek, a special-education teacher at Sheffield Intermediate School for the past 10 years, was escorted off school district property by police Wednesday after receiving a letter from Superintendent Bobby Burns informing her she had been suspended with pay for the visit. Burns wrote in the letter that Nosek's invitation to the reporter and his visit "may have violated various procedures, policies and legal requirements."

The memo did not list any specific policy Nosek had violated. Burns, the principal and other officials did not reply to requests for comment.

"I understand that you told Ms. [Amy] Miller, [the principal], that Mr. [Avi] Selk was there to gather information for an article he is writing about you. This incident may have violated various procedures, policies and legal requirements," Burns wrote in the memo.

Nosek began filing grievances with the district over two years ago alleging harassment by her principal. Nosek said that since she first began to complain about the principal, the harassment has escalated, with Miller allegedly demanding that she perform tasks that Nosek says are impossible because of her disability.

Nosek communicates with her students by reading their lips, but she's also required to administer oral reading tests. The process requires the teacher to listen to the student for pronunciation errors and simultaneously write them down. In previous years, other teachers had assisted Nosek with these tests.

After Miller began insisting that Nosek administer these tests herself, Nosek brought the principal an audiologist's letter stating her impairment made the task "virtually impossible," and suggesting the school continue to provide her with an assistant.

"Accuracy in lip reading, listening and writing at the same time is a challenge and virtually impossible for the hearing impaired," wrote the audiologist, Debbie Schirico.

A few weeks later, the district's director of personnel wrote a memo to Nosek again insisting she do the task herself. The district offered Nosek a hearing aid, which Nosek says does not help her hearing.

The memo raised the question of whether Nosek's disability made it impossible for her to perform "the essential functions of your job."

The district has declined to answer why Nosek's disability would hinder her job performance this year if it had not been a problem previous years.

"It's pure retaliation," Nosek said.

Derik Hayenga, chief of staff for the United Educators Association of Texas, a teachers' union, said he believed the alleged harassment and suspension were directly related to her hearing impairment. He said he and Nosek are considering filing a grievance under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The reporter visited Nosek and her class Tuesday, the morning before she brought allegations of harassment and intimidation by Miller before the school board. Nosek believes Miller is trying to force her out of her job.

"Amy will be happy," Nosek said Wednesday. "She wanted me gone." She then broke off, crying.

Several employees at Sheffield, as well as parents of Nosek's students, praised her teaching abilities.

One parent, Vanessa Cornelius, said Nosek's hearing disability helped her empathize with her son, who was nervous when he transferred to Sheffield from a special-education center last year.

Linda Price, another teacher at Sheffield, recalls a former student who Nosek tutored after school on her own time after the student was found to have a learning disability.

"I saw her [the student] getting confidence at the end of the year," Price said. "Her mom was absolutely ecstatic. I can say it changed her life working with Kathleen."