OXNARD : Judge Refuses to Reinstate Teacher
A judge Thursday refused to reinstate an Oxnard High School teacher who was fired because she used ethnic slurs against her Mexican-born students.
School district officials fired Maria de la Rosa last year after Latino students complained that the Philippines native demeaned and verbally abused them with ethnic slurs.
De la Rosa, a Spanish teacher, conceded using three mild slurs, but denied calling any of her male students homosexuals or any female students stupid. She admitted to calling students “ pangracio ,” which loosely translates as “stupid fool.”
Students also accused her of throwing away their homework without giving them credit for completing the assignments.
The state Commission on Professional Competence earlier upheld De la Rosa’s termination. Thursday, Ventura County Superior Court Judge Barbara Lane did the same.
“The effect of referring to her Mexican students as dumb, uneducated, stupid and homosexual in a derogatory sense was, the evidence established, demeaning and hurtful to her students,” warranting her dismissal, Lane wrote in her decision.
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