Should Teacher Be Fired for Facebook Photo of Students With Duct Taped Mouths?

An Ohio teacher is on administrative leave after posting a photo of her students with duct tape over their mouths to her personal Facebook page. What was supposed to be a joke is now raising questions about student privacy and whether a teacher with five years experience in the school system should lose her job.  

According to a statement from the Akron Public Schools communications officer: "There were about 15 or 16 middle school students in the class. Eight or nine students put the tape on their mouths. Cairns took a photo and posted it on her personal Facebook page as a joke. The photo wasn't dated, but was likely taken in late September or early October 2012. Principal Sonya Gordon asked Cairns to take the photo down. She also alerted parents of students in the class."

The hearing for whether the teacher should be fired or allowed to continue teaching is likely to be set in February, at which time the board will have to answer if she violated the students' privacy, and if so, was it great enough of an offense for her to lose her job?

For more on this story, including a video interview with the teacher, visit abcnews.go.com.