SUPPORT OF THE ST. LOUIS TEACHERS

Five teachers in the St. Louis Public School System on May 18, 1984 took 72 students on a field trip to Meramac Caverns, a resort about 35 miles from St. Louis. After the tour of the caverns, the primary purpose of the field trip, the children were permitted to wade in a designated shallow area of the Meramac River bordering the Caverns. Unfortunately a 13- year-old student went beyond the designated area without the teachers' knowledge and drowned.

The superintendent of the St. Louis Public School System has brought charges of insubordination against one teacher and failure to use reasonable and proper care in supervising children against all five of the teachers. He has asked the St. Louis Board of Education to dismiss the teacher charged with insubordination and suspend the others from 15 to 60 days. A lengthy hearing for all the teachers has just been concluded in which it was clear the teachers exercised good judgment and were sensitive to the welfare of the children. No Board regulation was violated by any of the teachers. The superintendent has attempted to establish an ex post facto standard that teachers should be punished when something happens to a student regardless of the culpability of the teachers. This is the first known instance where such an effort has been made to impose an ex post facto standard on teacher responsibility.

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers assembled in convention express support to the Clinton Middle School teacher, all members of the St. Louis Teachers Union, local 420, AFT, who have just undergone a grueling hearing before a committee of the St. Louis Board of Education; and

RESOLVED, that delegates to this convention request that the Executive Council of the American Federation of Teachers communicate with the St. Louis Board of Education calling for the dismissal of all charges against the Clinton Middle School teachers.