DULUTH, Ga. — Officials at Duluth High School have suspended a high school senior for a year, claiming that the teen sexually harassed his teacher when he hugged her.
Surveillance video captures Sam McNair, 17, placing his arms around the teacher and giving her a hug. It also shows the instructor pushing McNair away. In a report, the teacher said she felt the student’s lips and cheeks touch her neck, and that she had warned him about hugging in the past, CNN reports.
McNair, who has had disciplinary issues before, maintains that he did not kiss the teacher. His mother plans to appeal the school board’s decision and said that the school has never notified her about problems with her son’s hugging behavior.
The McNair family has posted a petition on Facebook, calling for the school district to revisit a year-long suspension for hugging a teacher. The petition currently has 200 signatures.
