US teacher claims gender discrimination after being fired when student obtained her topless photo

US teacher claims gender discrimination after being fired when student obtained her topless photo
Photo credit: Screenshot / News 12

A New York teacher, fired after a student obtained a topless photo of her, says she was the target of gender discrimination.

Math teacher Lauren Miranda, 25, taught teenagers at Belloport Middle School in New York until she was fired on Wednesday (local time) for not being a role model.

Miranda claims she was told to leave the school after being confronted by its management, who had a topless picture of her.

She says the image was only sent to an ex-boyfriend, another teacher in the area, three years ago and it was never made public - but somehow the image was obtained by a student.

She has since filed a lawsuit, arguing that the school administrators interrogated Miranda with the "intention of humiliating, embarassing and berating" her about the photo.

In a letter to the New York Times, Superintendent Jospeh Giani said Miranda's contract was terminated was she "caused, allowed, or otherwise made it possible" for an inappopriate image to be obtained by a student.

But she says male colleagues frequently post topless images of themselves and they don't see disciplinary action.

She wants her job back, and is seeking up to US$3 million in compensation through the lawsuit.

"This has been the lowest point of my life," Miranda says. "I've never felt so small, so defeated - and it wasn't my fault."

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