Teacher says she was fired for not giving minimum 50% credit to students who didn’t do assignment

A teacher in Florida said she was fired for refusing to give students a minimum 50 per cent credit on assignments they never completed.

Diane Tirado has been a teacher for over 17 years and began teaching Grade 8 at a school in Port St. Lucie since the start of the school year.

However, she said she was fired midway through September for not giving students a half credit, even though they didn’t complete their work.

READ MORE: How to foster good behaviour in kids? Expert says throw away behaviour charts

2:06 Expert says parents should throw away behaviour charts

“If there’s nothing to grade, how can I give somebody a 50 per cent?” Tirado told local CBS12 News.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

The 52-year-old explained she had given her students two weeks to complete a project, with some of the students failing to hand the assignment in.

Tirado told WPTV News the school has what she called a “no-zero” policy, which is reflected in the school’s student and parent handbook.

“No zeros – lowest possible grade is 50 per cent” reads the handbook.

The teacher said she asked the administration department about how to handle grading for a student who doesn’t turn in their assignment.

“We give them a 50,” Tirado said of the conversation. “I go, ‘Oh, we don’t. This is not kosher.’”

READ MORE: Keep your receipts! And other back-to-school tax tips for parents

4:28 The 4 S’s of back to school for parents

Tirado was fired on Sept. 14, and was not provided a cause of termination in a letter she received from the principal. Apparently this was because she’s a new hire and on probation. The teacher was also unable to say goodbye to her students, so she left a note on a chalkboard to explain why she was no longer their teacher.

“Bye Kids, Mrs. Tirado loves you and wishes you the best in life! I have been fired for refusing to give you a 50% for not handing anything in. Love Mrs. Tirado,” the note reads.

However, a spokesperson for the school district said there’s no district policy forbidding teachers from giving a zero grade.

“The District’s Uniform Grading System utilizes letter grades A-F, numerical grades 100-0 and grade point averages from 4-0,” the district said in the statement. “Some classroom teachers and school faculties have discussed the range of points for work submitted in each grading category. A zero is noted on the scale for work not attempted or work that is incomplete.”