Teacher on leave after approving Black Lives Matter yearbook cover
Kayla Mick teaches at Downing Middle School in suburban Dallas
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A middle school art teacher in suburban Dallas was disciplined last week for approving a yearbook cover that featured references to Black Lives Matter, "I can’t breathe" and "love is love."
Kayla Mick, who teaches at Downing Middle School, approved the artwork, which was chosen by eighth-grade students and is featured on the back cover of the school’s yearbook, which was published last week.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Mick was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by the Lewisville school district. The principal of the school offered offended parents the opportunity to receive yearbooks with an alternate cover, according to a report in the Dallas Morning News.
Parents objected to including the phrases, including "I can’t breathe," spoken by George Floyd, who was killed after a Minneapolis police officer placed his knee on his neck.
Stephanie Bell, a former mayoral candidate, started a petition demanding that the school district not infringe on the students’ freedom of speech. She has collected 3,400 signatures so far, the newspaper reported.
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