A teacher at Franklin Elementary School in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District stirred up controversy for her comments on top Trump aide Stephen Miller.
On Wednesday, The Hollywood Reporter posted an article by Benjamin Svetky in which Nikki Fiske—the Franklin teacher—detailed Miller’s behavior as an eight year old at Franklin. (The piece’s credit is officially attributed to Fiske, as told to Svetky.)
“Do you remember that character in ‘Peanuts,’ the one called Pig Pen, with the dust cloud and crumbs flying all around him? That was Stephen Miller at 8. I was always trying to get him to clean up his desk—he always had stuff mashed up in there,” Fiske described, adding: “He was a strange dude.”
She goes onto mention his glue-eating habit, which made national headlines.
Miller, a Santa Monica native, is President Trump’s senior policy adviser. Fiske taught Miller in 1993; he was a third grader at the time.
According to SMMUSD spokesperson Gail Pinsker, Fiske has been placed on “home assignment.”
“Home assignment is non-discplinary in nature that allows the district time to do a thoughtful review into the matter,” she said in an email to The Malibu Times.
The review will also focus on “whether her statements are not in compliance with applicable privacy laws and policies.”
Though Pinsker did not specify what the applicable privacy laws were, Fiske’s statements may have violated The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). The federal law is in place to protect students’ education records.
Fiske has been with the elementary school for 30 years. When, or if, she will return has not yet been determined by the school district.