A California substitute teacher will no longer teach in one district after berating a 13-year-old student for wearing a pro-police thin blue line face covering and claiming that the mask was the modern version of the Confederate Flag.
Lucas Lillar, whose father and stepmother work in law enforcement, wears the thin blue line face mask to show support for his family.
The teenager was wearing the mask in his math class at Lyman Gilmore Middle School in Grass Valley last Monday when the substitute teacher went on a tirade.
"That's not the American flag, that’s the new confederacy flag," the substitute teacher told Lillar, as seen in a video captured by another student.
The video surfaced on social media following the incident.
"Well, we can't do the Confederate, but we can put up the red, white and blue," the teacher said. "No, it's black, white, with some blue line in it."
Lillar responded, "Yeah, it's got the thin blue line."
The teacher then clapped back, "Yeah, but it’s not American."
During an appearance Saturday on "Fox and Friends Weekend," Lillar explained that the back-and-forth lasted about 20 minutes and did not end until the school bell rang to signal that it was time for classes to change.
"I was confused because I didn't know what he was talking about at first," he said. "And then he kept saying that is un-American and how if police don't like you, they'll shoot you."
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Lillar's mother, Amanda McCallum, said during the "Fox & Friends Weekend" interview that school administrators told her that the teacher would not be teaching in any of the district's schools again.
"The next step that we're working on is putting statements together so that he can not teach again in the state," she said.
Nevada County Superintendent Scott W. Lay said the incident is currently under investigation and that "appropriate action" will be taken.
"The California Education Code §44953 allows for immediate dismissal of a substitute teacher," Lay said in a statement to CBS13. "We expect all educators to perform their duties with utmost respect and professionalism to afford our youth an environment conducive to learning. The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing that governs educator credentials will be informed of this incident."
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