Teacher accused of calling Muslim teen a Taliban
WESTON, Fla. -- A South Florida school board voted to suspend a high school teacher accused of making a slur against a Muslim student, CBS Miami station WFOR-TV reports.
"She called my son, on Feb. 2 as we walked into class, 'Here comes the raghead Taliban,'" said Youssef Hassan Wardani, the father of Deyab-Houssein Wardani, 14.
Youssef Wardani said his son was called the slur by his French teacher, Maria Valdes, at Cypress Bay High School in Weston. The student said the teacher said it several times.
The Broward School Board, after the father demanded action, voted Tuesday to suspend Valdes for five days without pay.
"The diversity of our students, our families and this community is of tantamount importance to us as a school district," said Tracy Clark, a Broward County Schools spokeswoman.
WFOR-TV tried reaching Valdes, but she was unavailable.
Youssef Wardani is furious over the suspension and said it doesn't go nearly far enough. He wants the teacher to be fired or suspended for a year without pay.
Youssef Wardani addressed the school board hoping for a more harsh punishment. He accused the board of not doing enough.
"You have failed every teacher and parent and child in this district just to hide Mrs. Maria Valdes and racists like her," he said.
The exchange got tense when School Superintendent Robert Runcie responded. Youssef Wardani was told to "stop having outbursts" or he would be removed from the board meeting.
Runcie assured Youssef Wardani that he knows firsthand the pain of bigotry, sharing his personal story of hatred against his own family. It happened shortly after they moved to the U.S. from Jamaica, at the hands of a neighbor.
"Walked across the street, turned around and without warning he started shooting a gun and shot my mother in the face," he said. "When the shooter asked why he did this, he said that he was angry and hated Jamaican immigrants who were coming here and taking our jobs."
However Yousesef Wardani vowed the issue was not over.
"We are not alone, and we're not going anywhere, and you are in violation, and you all should be removed for bullying," he said.
Deyab-Houssein Wardani agreed with his father and said he thinks the suspension should have been "more severe" and that five days is like "a vacation for her."
This isn't the first time the Wardanis have been at the receiving end of name-calling. It happened when the family lived out of state. Youssef Wardani said something like this can be targeted at anyone fueled by people exploiting stereotypes.
"Our son is not a raghead Taliban," he said. "Replace it with something else. Our son is not a bully. Replace it with something else. Our son is not the n-word. Our son is not a KKK."
The school district said it could not be harsher with the punishment because it was following state and federal guidelines as well as agreements with the union.
The family is considering legal action.