Georgia Teacher Fired for Stand Against Sleeping Student

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A student in Georgia fell asleep during class last month. It's not exactly breaking news, but in this case, the teacher ended up getting fired. Now he's fighting to get his job back, as Joshua Levs reports.

JOSHUA LEVS reporting:

One day in April, physics teacher Larry Neace at Dacula High School gave his students an assignment involving sonar and mapping points on the ocean bottom. There were about 20 minutes left in class and he wanted everyone to start right then, including the student who would later be at the center of a complaint.

Mr. LARRY NEACE (Teacher): As soon as I handed it out and gave the directive, he and another student put their heads down and went to sleep.

LEVS: Neace marked down that the two were sleeping. The next day, they handed their assignments in on time and did very well, but Neace cut their grades in half.

Mr. NEACE: That is a manifestation of not participating in classroom activities, so they lost half credit.

LEVS: He says his students know sleeping in class damages grades. At the beginning of each semester, they sign a syllabus.

Mr. NEACE: And part of that syllabus is a statement that if they waste class time when they are directed to work on a class activity or a lab that they would get a zero for that class activity or a lab.

LEVS: But the students' parents complained to the school and school officials sided with them. Sloan Roach is spokeswoman for Gwinnett County public schools.

Ms. SLOAN ROACH (Spokeswoman Gwinnett County Public Schools): We have a policy that very clearly says grading is not to be used for discipline purposes.

LEVS: The policy says grades must represent academic achievement and while it does not specifically address sleeping, Roach says school officials told Neace sleeping is a discipline matter and that he had to change the grade. He refused.

Ms. ROACH: It was really a case of insubordination and willful neglect. Those are the charges that the board found this teacher guilty of, and that's why he was fired.

LEVS: Neace insists his rule is in keeping with school policies that allow a teacher to grade based on participation, and he cites the school's mission statement.

Mr. NEACE: We are mandated by our mission statement to make not only these students knowledgeable in the material, but to make them responsible citizens, accountable for their academic behavior.

LEVS: Neace has taught for 23 years and says he's had the same rule for at least 10. He says he's applied it before with no problem, but the school system says there's never been a complaint before. Gary Walker is a top official at the Georgia Professional Standards Commission, which oversees teacher licensing. He says grades should not be affected by in-class napping.

Mr. GARY WALKER (Georgia Professional Standards Commission): Students should be judged on their knowledge and skills of the content of any course. The grade should reflect their abilities in the course and whether or not they're prepared to move to the next level.

LEVS: The dispute at Dacula High School, north of Atlanta, became front-page news locally, especially with the added detail that the student involved is a starting football player. His father told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that was irrelevant and the school agrees. The teacher said he did not see it affect the case. The student has not commented.

Hundreds of people supported Neace at a school board hearing and one of his students, 16-year-old Alisha Crowder, circulated a petition at school.

ALISHA CROWDER (Student, Dacula High School): If you choose to sleep in class then you're accepting the fact that you're going to fail the class. So, I mean, you know, it's like you're not putting forth the effort, so why should the teacher put forth the effort to help you pass.

LEVS: Her brother, Josh, and his fellow seniors, Ben Barry(ph) and Travis Crow(ph), all former students of Neace, are also pushing the school to hire him back. They say there's another critical element: Sleeping in school is like an epidemic.

Unidentified Teen #1: Teacher's teaching and they'll put their head down and go to sleep.

Group of Teens: (In unison) Yeah.

Unidentified Teen #2: They're right in front. Some of them, they're right in the front row.

Unidentified Teen #3: Yeah. Heard them snoring before and...

Unidentified Teen #2: Yeah, they do snore. They do snore.

LEVS: Alisha Crowder says Neace gave students real incentive not to sleep.

CROWDER: 'Cause it's like, I know I never wanted to sleep in his class 'cause I never wanted to get a zero.

LEVS: The school system says it does not condone sleeping and has discipline procedures in place. Teacher Neace is appealing his firing to the state school board. For NPR News, I'm Joshua Levs in Atlanta.

INSKEEP: This is NPR News.

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