A high school teacher from Burlington, Wisconsin is on non-disciplinary administrative leave after a student raised concerns about an assignment given while the teacher was on vacation in Washington, D.C. this past week, according to a district press release. Social studies high school teacher Jeff Taff apparently assigned students to watch a video about alleged election fraud, according to The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“I will be GONE this week Tuesday-Thursday, and plan to be back on Friday. I will be in Washington, D.C. Some of you will understand why! Some will not,” Taff wrote in an assignment posted January 3, according to screenshots on Twitter. “I am sorry, but standing up for election integrity and our right to vote in FAIR elections is too important for me to NOT be there. Again, I plan to be back in class on Friday.”
In another recent assignment, Taff instructed students to watch a video titled “Giuliani: 450k Illegal Ballots” in an assignment focused primarily on the New Deal. The Journal Sentinel reported that the video did not appear to be required.
In a press release, the Burlington Area School District condemned the actions that took place inside the Capitol building on Wednesday, but did not come make any judgements about the teacher, who was not named in the press release.
“We are aware that a district employee, a teacher at [Burlington High School], shared with the teacher’s classes plans to travel to Washington D.C. School administration became aware of this on Tuesday afternoon when a student came forward to question an assignment posted in the teacher’s Google Classroom. The teacher used personal time off and the trip to Washington D.C. was not related to any duties as a teacher,” the district wrote.
The release continued, “An internal investigation has been launched into information this teacher posted in Google Classroom. The teacher has been placed on non-disciplinary administrative leave so that we can investigate the totality of the circumstances, as we have not yet had an opportunity to speak with this teacher.”
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Eric Burk is a reporter at The Virginia Star and the Star News Digital Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Jeff Taff” by Burlington Area School District.
