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Drunk Aussie Teacher Passes Out in Front of Her Second Graders

She allegedly fell, passed out in class multiple times, didn’t notice a kid getting punched, and consumed hand sanitiser disguised in a water bottle.
drunk teacher in australia passes out drunk high elementary students valium
Left: Photo by Kenny Luo on Unsplash. Right: Photo by Nicole Honeywill on Unsplash.

Remember in class when you would tell your mates how much you wished your teacher would take a chill pill? In Australia, one did take a pill, and she passed out in front of her second-grade students.

She passed out after taking Valium and drinking vodka, the ABC reports.

The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) found her "performance as a teacher has been seriously compromised due to the consumption of Valium combined with vodka on more than one occasion" and that her grade two students were exposed to “considerable risk”. Her identity was not disclosed in concern for her mental health.

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The tribunal said the incident happened in August 2016, and that an ambulance was called after she was found unconscious at her desk. As a result, she is now suspended from teaching for two years.

But it wasn’t the first time this happened.

In September, one month after the incident, she went to her car to drink vodka and take Valium. The principal of the school then found her sitting in front of the class with her eyes closed. She left in her car when she was called to the principal’s office, so the police were notified. They pulled her over and disqualified her from driving for five months.

Then in 2018, the teacher took the same concoction of substances, causing her to collapse near the school library. She was brought to the hospital where a toxicology report indicated she had a blood-alcohol level of 0.34, just under 0.35 that is considered “coma” stage.

Other incidents include the teacher falling asleep on a computer desk of a science classroom and not noticing a kid getting punched, driving intoxicated with her kids in the car, and collapsing from drinking hand sanitiser from a water bottle.

The teacher was dealing with the deterioration of her marriage, anxiety, and depression over the two investigated years, and that she showed deep remorse for her actions.

The woman must show abstinence from alcohol for one year and continue treatment with a psychiatrist before being allowed to teach again.

Kate Jones, Queensland Tourism Minister and previous Minister for Education said that the “teacher should've been banned from the classroom” and that she will need to go through a rigorous process before being “deemed to be a fit and proper person to be back in a classroom."

Grace Grace, the Queensland Education Minister told Seven News that "I believe the QCT (Queensland College of Teachers) has handled this well, and the decision is the right decision."

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