My name is Kimberly Anne Tucker. I am candidate for Virginia’s 81st House District which includes part of Virginia Beach and part of Chesapeake and Founding Member of Indivisibile757. This is my response to a Virginian-Pilot profile about my termination.
One of my campaign issues, advocating for people with disabilities, was inspired by an experience I had as a person who stood in defense of students with disabilities as an assistant principal at Lynnhaven Middle School responsible for supervising special education. I was a whistleblower involving an incident where I felt compelled to protect my students with disabilities. A teacher at Lynnhaven Middle School had a long history of abusive language and treatment of disabled and minority students. He admitted to referring to his students as “stupid stumps” and on one occasion referred to one of his students as “his stupidest student” in front of the class. He also blatantly refused to provide federally mandated instructional accommodations to his students. His statement was “I’m not going to do it, let hem sue me!” This same teacher, years earlier, told an African American male student that “he would not amount to anything because his father was in jail and his mother was on drugs.” This student, was later found on the floor in a fetal position crying after punching a cement wall broken hearted from the teacher’s abusive words.
The newly assigned first year principal told me to ignore this teacher’s long history of abusive behavior. I reported her for failure to respond appropriately to this abusive teacher knowing that doing so would put my career of 14 years as an educator at risk. Nevertheless, I resisted. I eventually filed formal charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for retaliation and with the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights on behalf of my students after which time I was terminated. The EEOC found that there was significant evidence to prove that I was subjected to discrimination and retaliation. The US Department of Education Office Civil Rights required the school system sign and post a Corrective Action Plan to ensure that students with disabilities would receive their Individualized Education Plan accommodation as required by Federal Regulations. As the founder of Indivisible757, resistance is part of my DNA! I lost my job but the students won. Reports are that this teacher is much better behaved towardshis students.
News Coverage of My Termination Hearing My Recent Virginian-Pilot Profile
I experienced deep depression and was hospitalized due to a minor stroke as a result of this incident but nevertheless, I resisted. Unable to afford a lawyer and wanting the entire incident on record, I filed suit in Federal Court as a pro se litigant. I was offered cash settlement by the school system with one of the conditions being that I would cease to advocate for students or teachers who subsequently sought my advice on how to respond when they experienced similar situations. I refused the settlement so that the incidents in my case would be on record for future litigants. The magistrate judge found in my favor at the Summary Judgment level but his decision was later overturned. I decided not to exercise my right to a final appeal when my son and I were granted custody of my 5 month old granddaughter.
Most students in our public schools have positive experiences with teachers and administrators who are caring and responsive to their needs. However, we still have a lot of work to do to ensure that both students and adults of all backgrounds and abilities are given a fair chance to succeed in school and in life. This experience inspired one of my campaign issues which is to support people with disabilities. My campaign slogan is “I’m not running for office, I’m running for you” because I will fight for the all of the citizens of the 81st House District even those who have no voice, or those whose voice is not loud or strong enough! I want to use my experience to shape the future, to protect children and families to shape policy in the General Assembly.
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