Teacher who allegedly coughed on baby in Yogurtland loses job

The South Bay teacher who allegedly coughed on a 1-year-old in a San Jose Yogurtland last month no longer works for the Oak Grove School District, district officials confirmed over the weekend.

“We do not tolerate conduct from any employee that compromises any child’s safety,” Oak Grove superintendent Jose Manzo said in a statement.

The San Jose Police Department is still investigating the incident.

Last month, a woman was caught on camera in the Yogurtland on Cottle Road removing her face mask and intentionally coughing two to three times on a one-year-old in a stroller. The woman was upset that the child’s mother was not “maintaining proper social distancing,” according to San Jose police Sgt. Enrique Garcia, but surveillance footage shows the child’s mother stopping on a bright pink line on the floor.

The coronavirus can be spread through coughing or sneezing.

The child’s mother, Mireya Mora, told ABC7 News that she believes the woman’s actions were racially motivated.

“I believe this woman may be racist because the family in front of her is white,” Mora said. “Me and my grandma are Hispanic and she started telling me about my distance and harassing me and my son once I started speaking Spanish to my grandma.”

Online sleuths identified the woman as a special education teacher in the Oak Grove School District, and the Oak Grove School District confirmed that one of its employees was a “person of interest” in the case in late June. A petition to fire her and remove her teaching license had received over 15,000 signatures as of Monday morning.

The district said in a statement in late June that it had received threats of violence and damage to its schools in the wake of the incident.

“We understand and share the feelings of anger around this incident,” the district said. “However, we ask everyone to remember that the mission of the Oak Grove School District is to serve children, including those from some of the most vulnerable populations in our San Jose community. Violence or damage to our students’ schools only serves to harm the very population that those who are emailing the District seek to protect: our kids.”