Arkansas Teacher Awarded $500K in Lawsuit

A former Texarkana, Arkansas, teacher was awarded $500,000 in a discrimination lawsuit and is to get her old job back.

The Texarkana Gazette reports that Andrea Johnson claimed she was wrongly fired for allegedly giving answers to a math exam to special needs students.

Johnson claimed other teachers also had the answers to the test and said she was singled out because she was the only black person on a math teaching team at Arkansas High School.

Johnson had sought $750,000. Her attorney, John Walker of Little Rock, says the all-white jury recognized Johnson’s contributions and agreed she was fired on a “flimsy basis.”

The school district says it is considering an appeal.