The principal and a teacher at a Kaysville elementary school were suspended with pay after allowing a student to dress in a Nazi costume in a Halloween parade.
The image of the child — dressed in tan pants and a brown shirt with a red arm band adorned with a black swastika — began circulating on social media after the Thursday parade at Creekside Elementary. Many commenters expressed outrage at whoever allowed the child to wear the costume, while others supported the boy.
In a statement, the Davis County School District apologized for the costume.
“[The district] does not tolerate speech, images or conduct that portray or promote hate in any form,” the statement read. “The district is taking the matter very seriously and is investigating every aspect of the situation.”
School district spokesman Chris Williams declined to name the faculty members who were placed on paid leave, but the elementary school’s website lists Steve B. Hammer as the principal.
The school hosts kindergarten through sixth grade students.
Schools in the district have faced criticism this year for alleged racism and religious insensitivity.
In May, a biracial student from West Point Junior High was left dangling by his backpack outside a moving school bus when its bus driver closed the doors on him and continued driving. The boy’s parents sued for what they called a “racial assault," and the district agreed to pay $62,500 to settle it.
A teacher at Valley View Elementary School in Bountiful was disciplined in March when she asked a fourth grade student, who is Catholic, to remove an ash cross from his forehead on Ash Wednesday.
The teacher apologized and said she didn’t know the mark was a religious symbol.
