Burlington Area School District officials on Monday said their ongoing investigation of the actions of a Burlington High School teacher focuses on the materials he shared with his students, not his planned use of personal time to travel to Washington, D.C. last week.
The planned trip to the nation’s capitol by social studies teacher Jeff Taff – which reportedly came during a rally by supporters of President Donald Trump that resulted in a violent invasion of the U.S. Capitol – was preceded by online instructions to students that included comments about the purpose of the trip.
“The district is investigating what content the teacher presented to students and whether or not that violated district policies,” district officials said in a statement released early Monday afternoon.
Taff is on non-disciplinary, paid administrative leave as specified in the district’s employee handbook to give the district time to complete the investigation, officials said.
The district’s announcement Friday that Taff had been suspended from teaching pending the completion of the investigation touched off a firestorm on social media with many commenters contending the district was violating the teacher’s First Amendment rights.
However, district officials said Taff’s planned trip to the rally is not the reason for the investigation. But, officials added, “If the district were to ever confirm a staff member’s involvement in a criminal activity, that would be a separate issue.”
In a widely circulated post from Taff’s online classroom portal, the teacher told students he was going to Washington and further wrote: “Some of you will understand why! Some will not. I am sorry, but standing up for election integrity and our right to vote in FAIR elections is too important for me NOT to be there.”
In another post outlining a Cold War curriculum for his students, Taff apparently posted a YouTube link to a video of President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Rudolph Giuliani making unfounded claims of voter fraud.
For a complete story on the matter, including the latest updates, see the Jan. 14 edition of the Burlington Standard Press.
-
-
-
-
-