EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – The El Paso Independent School District is looking into a classroom discussion at Franklin High School where a teacher appeared to be saying that calling people “pedophiles” was unfair and they should be called “minor attracted persons.”

Two students who are in the class said the social media clip that is being circulated was taken out of context and was part of a larger discussion and exercise on political questions during an introduction to “The Crucible.” The students made their comments on social media.

A 16-second clip posted on social media showed the following exchange:

On the Whiteboard: “Age doesn’t matter when it comes to love.”

Teacher: “You’re not allowed to label people like that.”

Entire class: “They are called pedophiles.”

Teachers: “Stop it.”

Teacher: “We’re not going to call them that.”

Teacher: “We’re going to call them MAPS.”

Teacher: “Minor Attracted Person.”

“So don’t judge people because they want to have sex with 5-year-olds.”

A handful of viewers have reached out to KTSM, expressing concern or even outrage.

The school district issued the following statement: “El Paso Independent School District has been made aware of a classroom situation and has promptly initiated an investigation. Any allegation of potential misconduct is investigated thoroughly and the safety of our students is a top priority. As this is a personnel matter, no further information will be shared at this time.”

We will update this story if the school district takes any action against the teacher.

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