LAFAYETTE, Colo. — A teacher with Colorado’s Boulder Valley School District was placed on paid administrative leave following an alleged incident at the middle school, the school district said Thursday. CBS Denver confirmed the Lafayette Police Department is investigating reports that teacher allegedly assaulted a student who refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
Karen Smith, Angevine’s physical education teacher, was placed on leave Thursday.
The school’s principal, Mike Medina, sent a letter home to parents Thursday evening notifying them there had been an “incident” involving Smith but said he could not elaborate.
The Lafayette Police Department responded to an incident at the school around noon Thursday.
Karen Smith is accused of assaulting a student who wouldn’t stand for the Pledge Of Allegiance.
CBS Denver
A parent waiting to pick her child up at Angevine Friday afternoon told CBS Denver that her daughter knows Smith as a “strict” teacher but has never had an issue.
Two other parents who spoke to CBS Denver off camera said they believe the story has been “blown out of proportion” and expressed disappointment.
The school is working closely with the Lafayette Police Department on the investigation. For now, it has hired a substitute teacher to take Smith’s place.
No charges have been filed.
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