Amy Lacey, who was the principal of a Texas public middle school before being fired in May, has opened up about allegations that she announced the banning of the Spanish language in the school's classrooms.

According to students, Lacey made an announcement on Nov. 12, 2013 to Hempstead Middle School's student body of about 330, over half of which is Hispanic, according to Fox News Latino. She reportedly told students they could no longer speak Spanish in class, KHOU reported. In December, Lacey was placed on paid administrative leave, and in March the school board decided not to renew her contract, Aljazeera America reported.

In an open letter printed by the Houston Chronicle this week, Lacey claimed she never prohibited Spanish.

"I informed students it would be best to speak English in the classrooms to the extent possible, in order to help prepare them for [standardized] tests," she wrote according to Opposing Views. "It is important to note that I did not ban the use of Spanish anywhere in the school or at any time."

Lacey said her announcement was "in accordance with board policy, as well as supporting the efforts of teachers to prepare our students to be successful."

"Using English to the extent possible would also allow non-Spanish-speaking teachers a better opportunity to assess understanding and learning," she said in the letter.

Lacey was previously not allowed to talk about the situation because she was on administrative leave. She can now speak about it because her contract with the school was not renewed, FNL reports.

"The perception of the teachers was that students were being disrespectful and disrupting learning, and they believed they could get away with it by claiming racism," Lacey continued. "I merely encouraged students to speak English in classrooms by advising them that it would be to their advantage to do so especially with regard to state testing."

The former principal added that various community members have supported her since she made the infamous announcement.

"I love this community and will continue to support its efforts to do what is best for all, most importantly our kids," Lacey said.
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Follow Scharon Harding on Twitter: @ScharHar.

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