Edmond Teacher Placed On Paid Leave As District Investigates Alleged Racist Incident With Black Student

An Edmond middle school teacher has been placed on paid administrative leave following an incident with a Black student, according to the communications director with Edmond Public Schools.

Latrell Taft, a student at Heartland Middle School, wore a shirt that said ‘Black King’ to school on Tuesday.

According to Taft, his teacher allegedly called him racist and said if she had a shirt that said, ‘white queen’ it would have been racist. Taft also stated the teacher told him there should be a white history month.

Related: Edmond Mom Calls For Apology After Teacher Allegedly Calls Son’s ‘Black King’ Shirt Racist

Taft’s Mother, Melisa Shirley, spoke to the school about the incident and said she didn’t receive the response she would have liked until after a social media post she made on Facebook started to circulate.

Shirley met with school officials Thursday morning. She told News 9’s Feliz Romero the teacher admitted to making the comments and had been placed on leave as the investigation continues to determine if more disciplinary action should be taken.