By: Don Driggers

An upstate New York high school Spanish teacher was reportedly sidelined after volunteering to advise a chapter of Turning Point USA on campus, NY Post reported.

Jennifer Fasulo, a teacher at Charles W. Baker High School in Baldwinsville, a suburb of Syracuse, was placed on paid administrative leave on Jan. 30. The move came shortly after she offered to help students launch Club America, the high school division of the conservative group co-founded by Charlie Kirk, supporters say.

In a Feb. 10 letter to parents, the Baldwinsville Central School District confirmed Fasulo’s leave, stating: “The district can confirm that a staff member has been placed on paid administrative leave while a matter is under review. We are following established administrative and legal procedures, and we are unable to comment further or share additional details at this time,” the NY Post reported.

Fasulo’s students have rallied behind her, creating a petition calling for her reinstatement and alleging discrimination based on political and personal beliefs. The petition had garnered over 2,100 signatures as of Thursday.

“This teacher is being targeted not because of her performance, but for her political beliefs,” Club America President Jerry Dygert told the school board at a Feb. 9 meeting, according to the NY Post. He added that removing Fasulo threatens the club’s mission to promote political understanding and civil discourse.

Students have spoken out, emphasizing Fasulo’s role as a mentor and the positive impact she has on the classroom. “She extends her title as teacher and is considered a mentor. The wisdom and compassion that she gives to her students is unmatched,” one student told the NY Post.

The controversy, however, has drawn criticism from some parents, who claim Turning Point USA promotes an extremist ideology. One parent described the group as “terrifying” and said it disproportionately influences boys and young men. Another wrote, “Organized hate groups have no place in our public schools. Would you want a KKK chapter, a neo-Nazi group?”

Former Republican state Senate candidate Caleb Slater, a supporter of Fasulo, told the NY Post that she has become a “sacrificial lamb” to discourage conservative organizations and viewpoints at the school, which he said is decorated with pride flags. “These are students who asked for this organization to be founded, not parents or teachers,” Slater said.

Some reports suggest that the leave may have been related to interactions Fasulo had with students regarding sexual orientation during an after-school Christian youth group called Youth Alive, although these claims remain unsubstantiated, the NY Post reported.

The Baldwinsville Central School District referred the NY Post to its Feb. 10 statement for comment. Fasulo’s husband declined to comment on the pending investigation, and Fasulo herself could not be reached while returning from a mission trip in El Salvador.

The case has sparked debate over political expression in schools, student rights, and the role of educators in guiding student clubs with controversial or partisan affiliations, the NY Post reported.