Did Teacher Bruce H. Smith Jr. Go Too Far? School District Sued by Parents Over Sexually Explicit Classroom Material
Thursday, May 17th, 2007
In Brodheadsville, Pennsylvania, parents identifying themselves as “Jane and John Doe” are suing the Pleasant Valley School District, its board, Superintendent Frank Pullo, and Pleasant Valley High School principal John Gress in federal court for allowing high school history teacher Bruce H. Smith Jr. to show and talk about “sexually explicit and offensive material” to his 16 and 17-year-old students and corrupting minor children.
According to the lawsuit, Smith showed his students photos of nude, dismembered, female murder victims in class and had sexually explicit conversations with students. The lawsuit maintains that Smith provided his “sexually explicit” book, “Memoirs of a Class President,” about his teenage romantic life to students. (Students say they were told about the book, but never given it to read. Students who have read the book call it an honest coming-of-age account like “Catcher in the Rye” or “Go Ask Alice.”)

