A Florida teacher is retaliating against her former school after she says she was fired from her position because she became pregnant out of wedlock.
39-year-old Jarretta Hamiliton was fired from Southland Christian School in St. Cloud, Florida where she taught fourth grade after she asked for maternity leave.
The mother to a now 8-month-old baby girl says she met with the school’s principal Jon Ennis to ask for time off but was questioned about when she conceived her child.
Hamilton and her husband Samuel Treftz appeared on the Today Show this morning and told Ann Curry that she was shocked by her former administrator’s behavior.
“I was only requesting a standard six weeks maternity leave, and as the conversation progressed, he said, ‘I’m just trying to do the math here. When did you get married?’ I said ‘Feb. 20’…He said, ‘Well, did you conceive prior to marriage?’ I answered and I told him, ‘Yes.’”
Following that she says she received a letter of her termination from Principal Jon Ennis who wrote,
“Jarretta was asked not to return because of a moral issue that was disregarded, namely fornication, sex outside of marriage. The employment application, which she filled out, clearly states that as a leader before our students we require all teachers to maintain and communicate the values and purpose of our school.”
Hamiliton argues that the there was no morality clause in her contract and her privacy was violated after Ennis not only informed the entire school staff why she was fired, but called her student’s parents with specifics as well.
She has since filed a lawsuit against the school.
Check out Hamilton and her husband on the Today Show below.
