Drinking and driving may be illegal, but, at least in California, drinking and teaching is not.
This was made quite clear in Sutter County, California, on Monday when prosecutors revealed they would not be pressing charges against a 57-year-old teacher accused of exactly that.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the teacher -- Wendy Munson of Nuestro Elementary School -- was arrested in October after local law enforcement officials were tipped off that the teacher appeared to be under the influence while teaching.
NEW: 2nd-grade teacher who was arrested for being drunk in class is no longer facing charges because "it is not illegal to teach drunk."
I love America.
Wendy Munson was arrested after teaching her students at Nuestro Elementary School in California while drunk.
Munson failed… pic.twitter.com/cbrT7WdYcB
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) June 12, 2024
Munson then failed a sobriety test, registering a 0.20 percent blood alcohol level hours after the initial tips came in.
In a statement obtained by the Times, prosecutors revealed that Munson's actions were not technically illegal.
“While the district attorney’s office agrees that it is highly inappropriate to teach while intoxicated, it is, unfortunately, not illegal,” the statement said.
The initial arrest of Munson was not based on her merely teaching while drunk, however.
Rather, officials had suspected the teacher drove drunk prior to the arrest.
Despite eight months of investigation -- which included numerous witness interviews with students and the discovery of a video showing the teacher driving to work -- the prosecution could not find sufficient evidence to prove that Munson had driven while intoxicated.
Sutter County District Attorney Jennifer Dupré claimed that the investigation could not prove Munson hadn't gotten drunk after arriving at work, which is not a crime.
“She doesn’t get out of the car and tumble or anything, so that didn’t help us,” Dupré said of the video evidence, according to the Times.
"I certainly don't support anyone teaching drunk, but I can't charge anyone criminally," she further told CBS News.
Though Munson's current employment status is unclear, the Times noted that the Nuestro Elementary School District's website does not currently list her as a teacher.
Monday's news generated harsh social media backlash.
