EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14\/CBS4) \u2014 Matthew Taylor, a special education teacher and former head basketball coach at Eastlake High School, has filed a discrimination charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and is seeking reinstatement after being removed from his coaching role. <\/p>\n
Officials with the Socorro Independent School District had confirmed Taylor was relieved of his coaching duties in December. While SISD did not respond to questions about why he was removed from his position, the district confirmed that Taylor would remain employed as a teacher. <\/p>\n
In a statement emailed to KFOX14\/CBS4 on Thursday, Taylor’s attorney, Jonathan L.R. Baeza, revealed that Taylor has filed a discrimination charge with the EEOC and a grievance seeking reinstatement. <\/p>\n
“Mr. Taylor was recently removed from his coaching position. He has filed a charge of discrimination with the EEOC and intends to pursue his claims. He has also filed a grievance seeking immediate reinstatement as basketball coach,” Baeza said. <\/p>\n
According to Baeza, Taylor was removed from his position as coach following a disability-related medical episode, which he says is protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), adding that allegations suggesting Taylor posed a safety risk and left students unattended are false. <\/p>\n
“When Mr. Taylor experienced a medical episode related to a disability protected under the ADA, he handled it responsibly. At all times, students were properly supervised, and no students were ever in danger or left alone,” Baeza said. “Rather than receiving support for addressing a medical issue, Mr. Taylor lost his coaching position.” <\/p>\n
He added, “The Americans with Disabilities Act protects employees with physical and mental health conditions\u2014including PTSD and other mental health disabilities. Workers have the right to ask for reasonable accommodations without being punished for it. We need to do better supporting people dealing with mental health challenges, especially our veterans and teachers who give so much to our communities. No one should lose their job for asking for help. We’re confident the legal process will show the truth of what happened here.”<\/p>\n
When reached for comment on Taylor’s discrimination charge, SISD told KFOX14\/CBS4, “We are unable to comment on personnel matters.”<\/p>\n
Students and players showed up to Thursday night’s SISD board meeting to ask that their coach be reinstated. Parents at the meeting said their kids were not unattended during the school trip when the alleged medical incident happened, but were under the watch of the assistant coach.<\/p>\n
“We demand that not only you reinstate coach Taylor, but you do some soul searching about how you lost sight of the students you serve,” Desiree Sosa, a parent at the SISD meeting, said. <\/p>\n
Speaking to KFOX14\/CBS4 on Thursday, Baeza said, Whats important for the public to understand is that the allegations aren’t facts and that the legal issue here is whether an employee, Mr. Taylor, was treated fairly and lawfully after disclosing the disability and after requesting an accommodation to his employer.”<\/p>\n
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