Teacher out of a job after talking to Utah class about COVID vaccines, hating Trump
A teacher is no longer working at a Utah school after she was recorded giving her opinions about former President Donald Trump and COVID-19 vaccines in class.
Leah Kinyon, a chemistry teacher at Lehi High School, was first put on administrative leave after a student recorded her sharing remarks in class, Fox 13 reported.
“I would be super proud of you if you chose to get the vaccine,” Kinyon said in the video. “We’ll just keep getting variants over and over until people get vaccinated. ... It could end in five seconds if people would get vaccinated.
Alpine School District said in a statement to McClatchy News on Wednesday that the teacher is no longer employed by the district.
“Alpine School District has concluded our investigation of the incident that occurred on August 17, 2021 at Lehi High School. Although the details of a personnel investigation are confidential the teacher involved is no longer an employee of Alpine School District,” the statement reads.
The video, which was also shared with KSL Radio, also shows the teacher talking about Trump.
“I hate Donald Trump. I’m gonna say it. I don’t care what y’all think. Trump sucks. He is a sexual predator, he is a literal moron. Go tattle on me to the freaking admins, they don’t give a crap,” she said, according to the station.
“This is a chemistry class!” a student can be heard saying.
“Turn off the Fox News, do your parents listen to Fox News? This is my classroom and if you guys are going to put me at risk, you’re going to hear about it,” the teacher responded.
Other teachers have been put on leave for expressing their opinions on vaccines during the pandemic.
A Wisconsin teacher was put on leave in May after calling a student “a dummy” and a “jerk” because he wore his mask under his chin, USA Today reported.
In a video posted on TikTok showed the teacher calling the student “one of the most disrespectful” students she’s met.
“There’s other people you can infect just because you’re vaccinated,” the teacher responded after the student told her that he’s vaccinated. “You should hear about how everybody talks about you. You’re a jerk.”
This story was originally published August 18, 2021 at 1:19 PM with the headline "Teacher out of a job after talking to Utah class about COVID vaccines, hating Trump."