SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – Representatives of Granite School District have reportedly found no legal violations in an investigation of a fourth grade teacher at William Penn Elementary who allegedly posted a social media video where she expressed “very disconcerting” information regarding her classroom and students. 

Sometime before or during Aug. of 2022, the teacher released a video on her personal social media account where she explained how her classroom is “built for non-white students,” according to the video clip. She went on to add that, “if you look around and you interact with some of the materials I have, you’ll notice there’s like no white kids represented.” 

Several weeks after the video was published, on Aug. 25, Granite School District released a statement explaining that they became aware of the post and placed the teacher on leave while the district conducted an investigation of the matter. 

Nearly a month later, on Sept. 23, the district released a follow up statement, notifying the community that, following their investigation, they had no evidence to confirm “any policy or legal violations” regarding the comments that were made in the post. 

District representatives went on to add that, “employees on their own time and personal lives have free speech rights,” and that they found no “instances of discrimination of any kind within the employee’s classroom or students.” 

Despite this, representatives said that through the investigation, they did find cause for corrective action, stating that, “we have disciplined the employee as appropriate and consistent with the findings of the investigation.” 

The William Penn Elementary employee has asked Granite School District to share the following message on her behalf:

“I sincerely regret the disruption brought to the school, faculty, community, families and above all, my students. The expectations in my class are to be safe, responsible and respectful. I built my classroom for all learners and to be welcoming of all families. I have and will continue to ensure that every student feels welcome and represented in my classroom, and I strive to provide an inclusive environment and to ensure the safety and comfort of all my students. I also want to reiterate the importance of parental engagement and welcome their involvement in the education of their children. I am committed to adhering to state and district approved standards, curriculum, and materials to ensure the success of my students.” 

Due to threats that have surfaced targeting the employee, the district says that they will not be identifying her, and that they “anticipate the transfer of this employee to another location within the district” that has not yet been decided.