The recent $300,000 compensation case between Wall Township and Susan Parsons was highly controversial. It touched again on an equally controversial topic, which involved politics and the former President Trump. According to the teacher, she had to remove any details pointing out to Trump on a student’s attire. The attire was a MAGA t-shirt, which she was supposed to use in the Yearbook. The teacher decided to remove any details pointing out to Trump not to create any political heat. The lawsuit started in 2019, and it was against her school. The teacher was forced against her will to remove any details relating to Trump in the Yearbook. Many parents were appalled with this issue, especially as Trump became a popular leader in various parts of the country. Many parents felt it was an infringement of the freedom of expression.
While the school was trying to control any form of political bias, it was an infringement on the teacher’s rights. As such, the school district’s insurance will have to compensate her, based on recent reports from the court. Parson was the head of the advisory for the Yearbook. However, she was later forced to implement a significant change to the document by the school’s Principal. The Principal did not contact her directly but instead reached out to her through the secretary. The secretary was quite specific with her instructions, with Parsons claiming she was told, “that has to go.” Parsons was initially skeptical of this law but eventually decided to give in to the institution’s demands. When the Yearbook was finally released, many people in the community were outraged with the teacher’s actions. Many people blamed her, with many parents in the schooling facility raising their concerns about free speech. Due to Parsons’s edits, she received a three-year suspension, and she received several threats via email. She feared for her life, and the appalling fact is that the actions that occurred were not intentional.
The act went viral fast, and Parsons was even interviewed with the NJ advance. According to Parsons, the incident made her apprehensive, and she currently doubts the ethics of this schooling facility. Since the incident, Parsons claims her life has not been the same. According to her, teaching is a passion and gives her a powerful sense of purpose in life. However, this recent act has stained her image as a professional and someone who has to guide the youth. According to the student who wore the shirt, wearing it was to make a significant impact on the Yearbook. He was later surprised that the school was so sensitive to the image that they went to influence a teacher to edit it. According to the student, the Yearbook had a re-take day, and no one had informed them of the issues with the images. The student, Gerard Berardo, mentioned that the Yearbook had a re-take day, and no one had said anything about the problems. The student’s parents raised concern about the matter and demanded the school print the Yearbook with the unedited image. According to the student’s parent, such an issue is a form of “censorship,” It should not be occurring. However, she later decided to file a lawsuit against the school, and her case was successful. She will receive compensation from the school’s insurance service for her harrowing experiences.
