US teacher fired for reading ‘I Need a New Butt!’ to kids in second grade

A Mississippi assistant principal was fired after reading a children's book called "I Need a New Butt!" to second-graders.

According to NBC News, Toby Price was requested to set up a Zoom lesson for the students at Gary Road Elementary School in Byram, and when the principal failed to come up as scheduled, he was directed to read them a book.

Free speech advocates have criticised the episode, claiming that it could limit free expression at a time when conservatives are pushing for book bans in schools across the country.

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The New York Times reported that on March 2, Read Across America Day, students aged six and seven from Hinds County, Mississippi, were waiting for a school official to read to them in a Zoom session.

Toby Price, an assistant principal at Gary Road Elementary School who was at his office, stepped in when the administrator was unable to attend.

He promptly picked up Dawn McMillan's "I Need a New Butt! and began reading to approximately 240 children.

Price said he was brought to the principal's office immediately after the lesson ended and told that parents might object to his choice of book.

He was given an administrative leave of absence.

The disgruntled teacher claimed that no parents had complained, but that the Hinds County School District thought it was inappropriate since it used words like "butt" and "fart," according to the network.

According to reports, the book also included cartoon depictions of a child's hiney.

According to WLBT, the superintendent of the school system said in Price's termination letter that he demonstrated "a lack of professionalism and poor judgement" by choosing the book.

(With inputs from agencies)