Jarretta Hamilton with her husband and daughter. Image via AOL news.
Fourth-grade teacher Jarretta Hamilton found herself jobless after requesting maternity leave, reports AOL News. Hamilton admitted to school authorities that she conceived before her April marriage. In a letter explaining her termination from Southland Christian School in St. Cloud, it states that she was not fired because of her pregnancy, but because of “fornication, sex outside of marriage.” They felt that Hamilton had violated the school’s values, which all teachers hired at Southland Christian must agree to uphold.
Hamilton is suing the school for marital status discrimination, and for invasion of privacy after school authorities informed parents about the details of the case. “They admitted that if she had conceived during the marriage she would’ve remained in employment,” said Hamilton’s attorney, Ed Gays. School Principal Jon Ennis declined to comment, but the letter further stated that “We request that Jarretta withdraw her case and consider the testimony of the Lord.” Apparently, Hamilton’s current marriage status had no bearing on their condemnation of the teacher.
posted on July 19th, 2010
by Margaret,
Tags: discrimination, Florida, privacy, teachers
Posted in News | 8 Comments »
January 26th, 2012 at 12:52 am
WWJD? Would he turn this mother away? I think not. You claim to be Christians inside that building but true Christians do not judge. True Christians welcome all with open arms and a loving heart. They are not hateful. Maybe you should practice what you claim to preach. Shame on you Southland Unchristian School!!
March 2nd, 2011 at 2:43 pm
The school has a right to uphold its values. Employment was at-will. At will schools can fire people if they don’t like the way they twitch their nose. Reliegious institutions have a duty to uphold high moral values. This woman would have been fired if it were discovered she was having sex outside of marriage, even if she hadn’t gotten pregnant. Her pregnancy exposed her sin.
She’s wrong to sue. She set a bad example. She needs to get a job in a public school that doesn’t uphold Christian values.
March 1st, 2011 at 2:24 pm
[...] Florida School Fires Fourth-Grade Teacher for “Fornication” [...]
September 18th, 2010 at 12:48 pm
Fantastic! I’ve been hunting for this for hours. I really wish that people would write more about this. I really appreciate the post
July 28th, 2010 at 6:34 pm
If the school was clear in the beginning about its rules of conduct, this teacher should have expected exactly what she got. If not, she has a valid legal case.
July 28th, 2010 at 5:07 pm
What about forgiveness, and casting the first stone?
July 19th, 2010 at 10:13 pm
If this teacher was committed and effective, I hope she wins her case!
July 19th, 2010 at 3:18 pm
What a hypocritical school!! I seem to remember Jesus hanging out with a couple of women who wouldn’t have passed muster at this place. But they probably wouldn’t have thought He measured up, either!