Photo of teacher taping mask to student's face causes outrage in North Penn School District
A shocking image from the North Penn School District showing a teacher taping a mask to a student’s face is making waves on social media.
The Montgomery County school district confirmed Wednesday it was taken in one of its classrooms last week, but did not confirm the exact date.
In a photo circulating with thousands of shares, a woman is seen placing tape on the black mask of a male student, whose face is partially blurred, as he sat in front of his laptop.
It is not known who took the photo or how it originally was shared on social media.
Former candidate for Florida's 3rd Congressional District, Chuck Callesto, drew attention to the incident on his Twitter account, announcing it as a “breaking report” to his more than 290,000 followers Wednesday morning.
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“Teacher at Pennsylvania's Pennfield Middle School caught taping mask to young child’s face in class,” read Callesto’s tweet that was shared over 2,200 times.
The North Penn School District released a statement Wednesday afternoon as the image continued to gain traction online. The statement did not confirm the school that the incident took place.
“An image taken in one of our classrooms last week and circulating on social media does not represent the universal values that the North Penn School District strives to instill in both our students and staff,” the statement read.
“After an immediate investigation, it was determined that while the incident was isolated and no malice was intended, the actions of the teacher were entirely inappropriate and unacceptable, no matter the context. We understand that the act of taping a mask to a student’s face is concerning to many and apologize that it occurred. The matter is serious and it is being addressed with the employee,” it continued.
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It’s not yet clear if the employee in the photo will face charges. The school district declined to offer further comment on the incident.
Its next school board meeting will be held Thursday, and some of the posts going around the internet mention that upset parents may plan a demonstration.
A local group called North Penn Stronger Together encouraged parents on Facebook to contact the administration and to “speak up” at the upcoming board meeting.
“Pro-mask or anti-mask, I hope we can all agree that taping masks to children’s faces crosses the LINE. This was not a joke for the child or the parents,” the post read.
The North Penn School District recently updated its masking policy from required indoors to optional both inside and outside, when the county has “low” and “moderate” transmission rates.
The masking debates among parents in Montgomery County since the start of the school year also happened in school districts across Bucks County, with families getting vocal at school board meetings about whether or not their child needs a facial covering on campus.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Teacher tapes mask on child's face at North Penn school in viral photo
