A Cincinnati Public Schools substitute teacher has been suspended for taking three special education students on an unauthorized field trip to Dayton last week.
After a hearing Tuesday, district officials recommended that teacher Jim Hardy be fired, district spokeswoman Eileen Houston-Stewart said Wednesday.
The school board will take official action at its Nov. 23 meeting. On Nov. 3, Mr. Hardy took the three North Fairmount Elementary School students to Dayton, where they visited the Wright Patterson Air Force Base and had lunch, Ms. Houston-Stewart said.
The students were gone from the school from noon to about 6 p.m. and their parents were concerned because they didn't know anything about the field trip, Ms. Houston-Stewart said. Mr. Hardy hadn't gotten permission slips from the school or the students' parents.
Mr. Hardy, a substitute with the district since 1993, was immediately removed from the classroom pending his hearing, she said.
Mr. Hardy defended his actions Thursday, saying he returned the students to school by 3:30 p.m. He planned to take all 12 of his special education students on the Dayton field trip in groups of three or four because it is easier in small groups.
"Other than the wrong procedure, I don't know what I did wrong," said Mr. Hardy, who plans to challenge his dismissal.
"The kids were with me at all times. No kid was traumatized or anything. This thing has gotten way out of proportion. I have an excellent record."
