A Florida teacher who encouraged her kindergarten class to vote on whether or not a boy with autism should remain in the class says she would take back the incident if she could.

The teacher, Wendy Portillo, is on a one-year unpaid suspension from teaching stemming from the incident last May. She is now appealing the suspension. On Tuesday she testified before an administrative law judge and recounted the incident.

Portillo said that after the boy was sent to the office for behavior issues, the other students in her class began talking about what they had witnessed. When the boy returned from the office, Portillo says she proposed taking a poll about whether or not he should remain in the class. The exercise fit in well with recent lessons on keeping tallies, she said.

“It was just another learning opportunity. It was just another way for me to review that teaching,” she said.

Now, the administrative law judge will review the case and make a recommendation to the school board, reports the Scripps Florida Treasure Coast Newspapers. To read more click here.

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Previous stories on this topic:

Teacher Suspended After Class Votes Out Student With Autism (November 20, 2008)

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