By Mark R. Chellgren
The Associated Press

FRANKFORT - A teacher whose injury subjected her to outbursts of anger and irritability cannot invoke the Americans with Disabilities Act to avoid dismissal for improper conduct, the Court of Appeals ruled Friday.

Sharon Macy was fired by the Hopkins County schools for conduct unbecoming a teacher. A school board hearing determined she had threatened to kill students, made inappropriate remarks about the marital status of children's families and made derogatory comments about a parent and another teacher in front of a classroom. The hearing found four cases in all of conduct unbecoming a teacher and fired her.

Ms. Macy had been a teacher since 1981. In 1987, she was involved in an accident on her bicycle with a motor vehicle, which ran over her head and caused a brain injury.

The Hopkins County superintendent in November 2000 cited Ms. Macy for 32 incidents from September 1997 to November 2000. The hearing followed the letter.

The unanimous three-judge panel of the court agreed with the hearing officer, who said Ms. Macy was required to adhere to certain standards of conduct regardless of her disability.