High School Teacher Says He Was Banned From Obama Speech Because He's a Conservative

A Miami high school teacher says he was "banned" from attending a speech by President Barack Obama last week because of his openly conservative views.

HIgh school teacher Randall Scott says he was barred from attending President Barack Obama's speech because of his political views. (Image source: WPLG-TV)

Randall Scott teaches advanced placement social studies at Coral Reef Senior High School, but when Obama paid a visit to the school last Friday, Scott said the school's administrators didn't let him attend.

Scott told Miami's WPLG-TV he believes open political discussion in the classroom is good for learning.

“I believe if I share my views with students and they share their views with me then it's a learning process for both of us,” he said.

Scott, a retired Air Force master sergeant, frequently takes to social media to criticize the Obama administration. Two students have reportedly asked to leave Scott's class because of his political comments.

A Miami-Dade County Public Schools said in a statement to WPLG that not all of the school's staff and students were able to attend Obama's speech due to size constraints, but that the matter is being reviewed.

"Because of the sensitivity surrounding the allegations regarding remarks that were made—remarks that were reviewed by Miami-Dade schools police and the U.S. Secret Service—the matter is currently under review," spokesman John Schuster said. “The size and setup of the event venue did not permit all of the school's staff and students to attend, and local administrators were required to decide who would attend to represent the school.”

Scott said he wants “whoever is responsible for this to publicly apologize for discriminating against me because of my political views.”