Free Republic

CINCINNATI, An Ohio teacher with a phobia of young children lost an appeal accusing her former district of failing to accommodate her disability. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit in Cincinnati rejected the appeal from Maria Waltherr-Willard, 63, who had accused the Mariemont district of age discrimination and a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Waltherr-Willard, a French and Spanish teacher, alleged the district knew she suffered from pedophobia, a fear of small children, when she was transferred in 2009 from Mariemont High School to the district's middle school. The teacher, who retired in January 2011...

An Ohio high school teacher who claims to have a phobia of young children is suing a school district for discrimination. Maria C. Waltherr-Willard, 61, of Greenhills, is suing the Mariemont school district, where she worked for 35 years, saying it discriminated against her when it reassigned her in 2010 from its high school to its junior high and then pressured her to resign, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. According to the paper, the suit is a discrimination claim based on her age and disability -- a rare phobia called pedophobia, an extreme fear or anxiety around young children. Waltherr-Willard’s suit...