Tampa teacher disciplined over 'privilege' form

Parents concerned over controversial form

Avery Coffman, WTSP 10:51 AM. EST April 08, 2016

Parents are outraged after their children had to fill out a form -- titled "How much privilege do you have?" -- during a Spanish class at Monroe Middle School.

Race and sex are two common questions students fill out on forms every year. But what about gender, sexual orientation or religion? Students at Monroe Middle had to do just that.

The form was handed out in a Spanish class to seventh- and eighth-graders by teacher, Yoselis Ramos. At the top, the form asked, "How much privilege do you have?"

The different categories included, "Race", "Skin Color", "Religion", "Sex", "Gender", Sexual Orientation", and "Disability."

Regina Stiles' daughter is in the class. When her daughter came to the "Disability" column, she had to reveal that she had ADHD.

"She has ADHD and apparently the teacher said there are some kids in this class that have ADHD, and ADHD is a mental illness, and that's why she circled that. To me ADHD is not a mental disability. It's something she has," says Stiles.

Other sections included religion and gender where kids were asked to circle "Cisgender," "Transgender" or "GenderQueer."

"She's 12. Some of these things should be taught at home," says Stiles.

After Stiles along with several other angry parents questioned school principal, Peter Megara he launched an investigation.

This is not a district form, this is a teacher-generated form and it was without principal consent and at the district level we do not collect that information," says Hillsborough County School Spokesperson Tanya Arja.

The students weren't required to turn in the forms. According to Arja, Yoselis says the goal was to teach them about persity and inequality through literature the students had been reading.

Yoselis has since been pulled from the classroom while the district looks into the issue. This is her first year in the Hillsborough County School District.

According to her LinkdIn profile, she says, "Knowledge means power. As a teacher, my desire is to empower students with the skills they need to be able to thrive, not only function, in our society. Those skills? Critical thinking, communication, empathy and logic through the Spanish language."