A local district attorney’s office in Northern California has announced that no charges will be filed against an elementary school teacher who was reportedly intoxicated while teaching in a classroom.
On October 2, 2023, Wendy Munson, a second-grade teacher at Nuestro Elementary School in Live Oak, California, was taken into custody on charges of DUI and child endangerment. The Sutter County Sheriff’s Office deputies were alerted to a teacher allegedly under the influence driving to school, and upon arrival, they observed her exhibiting signs of being drunk while teaching the class.
Munson was informed on Monday by the Sutter County District Attorney Jennifer Dupre’s office that she would not be prosecuted for the incident. “After a lengthy and thorough investigation, the Sutter County District Attorney’s Office has determined that no charges will be filed against Wendy Munson, the second-grade teacher at Nuestro School who was arrested on October 2, 2023,” the DA’s office wrote in a Facebook post. “During the investigation, it could not be established that Munson was under the influence when she drove to the school, as opposed to drinking only after arriving there.”
Additionally, Dupre’s office stated that the criteria for child endangerment charges could not be fulfilled as there was no evidence to suggest that the children in Munson’s classroom were ever at risk or in a situation where their safety was compromised.
“The mere potential that a situation could arise is insufficient to meet the requirements under the law,” the statement read. “While the District Attorney’s Office agrees that it is highly inappropriate to teach while intoxicated, it is, unfortunately, not illegal.”
At the time of Munson’s arrest at the elementary school in October, Nuestro Elementary School District Superintendent Baljinder Dhillon informed parents through a letter that she had been escorted off campus and apprehended by authorities.
According to a report by FOX 11 in Los Angeles, Dhillon assured parents that the students were not present during Munson’s arrest and that the second-grade students under her instruction would be provided with a long-term substitute teacher.