Sarasota history teacher Liz Ballard plans to fight back against allegations of harassing a conservative middle school student, and will seek a formal hearing at the state level, she told WUSF.
District documents and interviews show the case centers on a middle school boy who talked in class about beating up women, and how he favors abortion if the fetus is female.
Two brothers from the same family are involved in the situation. They have political connections to Governor Ron DeSantis. Their grandfather, Lon Deckard, was appointed by the governor to the board of State College of Florida.
The investigation came to light in late September when Attorney General James Uthmeier, also an appointee of DeSantis who was elected on Tuesday, posted on X that she tried to "cancel" an eighth-grade student.
Ballard taught US history at the highly ranked Pine View school in Osprey, and has already faced a three-day suspension for her actions. Now she's assigned to a job at district headquarters.
She talked to WUSF's Kerry Sheridan about why she plans to stand up to the latest charges and how she dealt with the student.
This interview has been condensed for length, and lightly edited for clarity.
What can you say about what happened from your point of view, as the teacher?
"There were some horrific, vile comments being made. If I didn't correct it, I wouldn't be doing my job. I'm being painted as this crazy liberal teacher, and that's not really the case," Ballard said.
You were dealing with two children in your class who were acting out?
"Only one was in my class. But I can't really say too much. The investigative reports that the district put together tell a pretty comprehensive story for the most part."
How unusual was this student's behavior?
"I mean, eighth-grade boys, they want to troll, they want to try to get a reaction, and that's not unusual, necessarily. I will say that this was probably some of the most egregious eighth-grade behavior that I've ever seen. But I don't think at the time that I overreacted. I think I handled it pretty level-headed, and I didn't overreact. I just wanted the behavior to stop."
Do you have any regrets or anything that you would have done differently if you could go back and do any of this again?
"Oh, absolutely. When the abortion comment was made, I should have written up a referral right then and there. In hindsight, that would have been the right way to go. But when you put something like that in writing, you're really putting a black mark on a student's record and making it harder for them to get into college. And I didn't want to do that to a student, but seeing what that family has done to me, I guess I should have."
Now there is a new development that the Department of Education is looking further into your case and recommending sanctions. Are you able to talk about what the next steps are and what your plan is to do about it?
"Well, I'm going to fight it, so it's going to probably end up going to a formal hearing. The bonus for that is I get to call witnesses. So it'll be nice for some people who are actually in the know, who were there, to be able to say, 'no, this is really what happened,' not this nonsense that's being spewed out by the family or the Florida Attorney General."
Why are you deciding to fight it?
"Well, first of all, you don't let the bullies win, ever. I believe in public education. I went to public school in Pennsylvania. I went to Plymouth State in New Hampshire. I got my master's at Florida State. I have benefited greatly from public education and state education, and I believe in public education. I believe in Sarasota County Public Schools. I believe in Pine View. I think we do a great job. I think the whole county does a great job providing options and choices for all parents. It's an institution worth fighting for, but certainly my dignity and righting a wrong is also really important.
Would you like to get back into teaching?
"I don't know yet. Some days I say, 'why the hell would I ever want to go back in the classroom?' And the answer is because of the students. Why would I let one family chase me out of education when I had hundreds of people reaching out to support me? So many more people are supporting me than not, and that's why I would return to the classroom."
