ST. LUCIE COUNTY, FL -- It's decision day for a controversial Treasure Coast teacher. So, will Wendy Portillo be reinstated?
Portillo has become known around the country now, as the teacher who let her students "vote-out" an autistic classmate last year, and tonight, the St. Lucie County school board will vote whether Portillo is fit to teach again.
In May of last year, Portillo was at Morningside Elementary school, and sent one of her kindergarten students, Alex Barton, who was then 5, to the office. Alex, she said, was being disruptive - his behavior a distraction to the other students.
But when Alex came back to class sooner than expected, Portillo allowed Alex's classmates to decide whether he should be allowed to stay.
They voted - no.
Alex was later was diagnosed with a form of autism. His mother was furious and the community was outraged.
But rather than fire Portillo, the school board suspend her and tonight, one year later, they'll decide whether to let her return to the classroom as a sixth-grade science and reading teacher at a different school.
If that happens, Portillo will be eligible to start teaching again after November 19th, which would mark the end of her one year suspension.
Many people have been watching the case very closely because, for some, Alex has become a symbol of how kids with autism can often be misunderstood.
Today's meeting is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
