UPDATE: This story has been updated with a statement by Mason Public Schools administrators.
MASON Parents and residents on Monday spoke in favor of repealing a school board policy that led an educator to resign last week from Mason Public Schools.
Following Katelyne Thomas official Feb. 26 resignation, parents spoke during a Mason school board meeting in support of Thomas, calling for repeal of board policy 2240, which they said is applied loosely and has been used to reprimand teachers.
Thomas taught at North Aurelius Elementary School.
Advocacy consultant and Mason resident Rhiannon Klein sent an open letter to the school board signed by over 20 parents who are fighting for the board policy to be repealed immediately. The policy, the letter states in part, prevents teachers from teaching or discussing diversity in their classrooms.
State police request warrant for MSUPD captain for OWI criminal investigation
Photo of an MSUPD squad car taken in 2017. Photo by Jon Famurewa | The State News
The Michigan State Police filed a warrant request on Capt. Valerie O Brien of the Michigan State University Police Department (MSUPD), according to an email from Scott Hughes, Community Outreach Coordinator for the Ingham County Prosecutors office.
O Brien was arrested Feb. 10 and was held at Ingham County Jail. Michigan State Police Lt. Brian Oleksyk said in an email that the department has an open criminal investigation on O Brien for an off-duty suspected OWI arrest from a traffic stop.
A timeline of Nassar s abuse, charges and Michigan State s response
A sign supporting survivors sits at the back of the room for the Teal Ribbon Ceremony at the 2019 Teal Ribbon Award and Volunteer Recognition Ceremony at the MSU Union on April 15, 2019. Photo by Connor Desilets | The State News
Content warning: contains descriptions of sexual abuse, harassment
This timeline could begin in 2014, when Amanda Thomashow filed a Title IX complaint against Nassar as an MSU student. It could begin even further back, in 1997, when former MSU gymnastics coach Kathie Klages received reports of Nassar s abuse. His crimes spanned decades, and his conviction created a rupture within the university administration, created state and federal investigations into who knew what and when