Southern Missouri teacher suspended after student dresses as Klansman

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — A southern Missouri school district has suspended a teacher who oversaw a class presentation in which a ninth-grader dressed as a Ku Klux Klan member.

The Springfield News-Leader reports that Poplar Bluff district superintendent Scott Dill visited the American History class Monday to read the suspended teacher's letter of apology.

The student who dressed as a Klansman Friday was among a group assigned to study the 15th Amendment, which awarded voting rights to black men. During their presentation, they discussed organizations that engaged in voter suppression.

A photo of the student has circulated on social media.

It's unclear if the teacher directed the student to dress as a Klansman. The district says it doesn't believe the student was acting with discriminatory intent.

Dill hasn't returned an Associated Press reporter's call.

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