SULLIVAN, Ind., Feb. 21 (UPI) -- An Indiana high school teacher who supported banning gay students from prom has been placed on administrative leave, officials said.
Diana Medley, a special education teacher in the Northeast School district in Sullivan County, made national headlines earlier this month when she said she supported barring gay students from attending prom, the Indianapolis Star reported.
She also said she did not believe gay people have a purpose in life.
"A gay person isn't going to come up and make some change unless it's to realize that it was a choice and they're choosing God," she told a Terre Haute television station, WTWO.
On Wednesday, the Northeast School Corp. Superintendent Mark A. Baker said Medley had been placed on administrative leave.
"As many of you know and appreciate, our school corporation is continuing to manage as responsibly and respectfully as possible the fallout from comments made by an employee as she attended a meeting outside of school or a school activity," Baker said in a statement. "We have conveyed our disappointment and our disagreement with these statements and have emphasized her comments do not reflect our schools' views or opinions."
Baker also said security guards have been stations outside Northeast high school because of Medley's remarks.
"This matter has created some heartbreaking differences in opinion," Baker said. "Please know we are always going to put the safety of our students and faculty first and any disruption of our educational process will be managed quickly."
