Texas Gov. Abbott calls for teacher's firing after assignment likens police to KKK

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called for the firing of a middle school teacher who allegedly gave students a homework assignment that appeared to liken police officers to members of the Ku Klux Klan, according to reports and social media posts.

The Republican governor issued the rebuke through his personal Twitter account on Sunday, when he said the eighth-grade teacher from Collin County’s Wylie Independent School District “should be fired,” and asked the Texas Education Agency to conduct an investigation.

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“A teacher in a Texas public school comparing police officers to the KKK is beyond unacceptable,” Abbott wrote. “It’s the opposite of what must be taught.”

Abbott also shared a tweet by National Fraternal Order of Police Vice President Joe Gamaldi, who shared a picture of a cartoon and described it as a homework assignment “comparing police officers to slave owners and the KKK.”

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“This is abhorrent and disgusting, and only further widens the gap between police officers and the youth in our community,” Gamaldi wrote last week.

Gamaldi also shared an Aug. 19 letter he submitted to the school district’s superintendent, in which he wrote: “[W]hat is even more disturbing is that no adult within your school thought better before sending this assignment to children.”

In an update to his tweet, Gamaldi said the school district “pulled back the assignment, apologized for the assignment, and will be issuing an apology to the parents.”

The assignment was administered to 400 eighth-grade students, local affiliate FOX 4-KDFW reported.

The assignment contained a cartoon that appeared to show eight different images of men, including members of the KKK and police officers, holding their knees on a Black man’s neck as he says variations of “I can’t breathe.”

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A spokesperson for the school district and the Texas Education Agency did not immediately respond to Fox News’ requests seeking comment.

In a statement to Fox News, Wylie ISD wrote: "These political cartoons portrayed in this lesson are not part of the district’s curriculum resources or documents. We are sorry for any hurt that may have been caused through this lesson. The assignment has been removed, and students will not be expected to complete it ... We are proud of the partnerships we have with our law enforcement community and will work together to move forward."