Woman sues SRU, school district, says disability led to dismissal

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- A woman has sued Slippery Rock University and a Mercer County school district, claiming she was denied an opportunity to become an elementary school teacher because of a hearing defect.
In a federal lawsuit filed Friday, Stephanie A. Burns, 22, of Boyers, said she was doing her field assignment at West Middlesex Elementary School last April when she was told the supervising teacher did not want her in the classroom because of her disability. Burns is partially deaf from a genetic hearing problem.
Burns enrolled in Slippery Rock University's elementary education certification program in 2001 and was successful in all her classes, according to the lawsuit. After completing the coursework, she only needed a three-week field assignment and teaching internship to graduate.
Her field assignment was in a fourth-grade class at the elementary school. After two days of orientation meetings, Burns says she was told she was not welcome at the school, the lawsuit states.
Burns alleges that when she asked for another assignment, her elementary education professor refused. The professor also asked Burns to enroll in a speech therapy course and present a lesson plan by August to a council of education professors who would determine if Burns "was able to enunciate well enough to be a teacher," the lawsuit states. If she failed her presentation test, she would be switched to a noncertified degree.
West Middlesex Area school board President Thomas Hubert said he was unaware of the lawsuit.
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