West Virginia teacher under fire for tweeting "ban Islam"

Impact

One West Virginia teacher is learning the real meaning of "delete your account." 

Nitro, West Virginia, foreign language teacher Sheri Sapp is facing some backlash after tweeting, "Ban Islam. Imagine how much more peaceful the Middle East and the entire world would be with no Muslims," WSAZ reports. 

According to high school senior Grant McVicker, Sapp has made her conservative views known among her students, though she has never said anything this vitriolic in class. 

WSAZ/Twitter

"Everyone knows she's a die-hard Republican; she voted Trump. But she never said anything like that against anyone in class," McVicker told WSAZ. "I personally don't agree with what she said, but it's her business, none of mine."

Shayla Leftridge, a parent in the community, didn't think it was appropriate for a teacher to tweet the anti-Islamic sentiment. 

"If you replaced that word 'Muslim' with any other religion, you would see the problem," Leftridge said. "I think that kind of rhetoric is dangerous for kids. I think teachers need to mold and facilitate conversations for kids to make up their own minds."

Briana Warner, a spokesperson for Kanawha County Schools, told WSAZ that the school is "aware" of the tweet and it's "being handled internally." 

"We cannot disclose any action that has or has not been taken regarding employment," Warner said. "All county policies are taken into account when considering whether or not action is warranted."

The school did not say in its statement whether Sapp has been terminated. WSAZ reached out to Sapp for comment and did not hear back. Sapp's Twitter account has been deleted — but screenshots live forever. 

According to the county's Board of Education social media policy, a person is always considered an employee of the county school system, even in their personal social media presence.

"Whether it['s] clearly communicated or not, you will be identified as an employee of the school district in what you say online," the policy reads.