KIRKWOOD, Mo. – Months after a middle school teacher was accused of being a “holocaust denier,” he had a hearing before the school board Monday evening.

Board members went immediately into closed session at the specially called meeting. The hearing included at least four parents, the teacher in question, and a teachers union representative.

The agenda said only that the board was meeting to consider “hiring, firing, discipling, or promoting an employee,” along with employee records or performance ratings. 

Concerns arose in August during a back to school curriculum meeting for parents over a Nipher Middle School social studies teacher displaying a large Palestinian flag in his classroom.

It came on the heels of pro-Palestinian protesters causing unrest at college campuses across the country over the Israel-Hamas war, including campuses in St. Louis and the University of Missouri-Columbia. 

Fear among Jewish students nationwide with an exponential growth in reports of anti-Semitic incidents.

A Nipher Middle School parent says she’s a descendant of a Holocaust survivor and confronted the teacher about the Palestinian flag. She says he called the Holocaust “her version of history.”

A local rabbi later told FOX 2 that the teacher denied the remark and had been a leader in Holocaust education at the school, even taking students to the museum on field trips. 

The school district has partnered with Jewish faith leaders and the Anti-Defamation League to address concerns, none of which forestalled Monday night’s hearing.

Parents emerged after 90 minutes without an answer.

“We won’t know anything for 30 days. That’s all we can say,” one parent said.

Board members and the superintendent refused to comment on camera. They walk a fine line when it comes to employee privacy. 

The superintendent did say appropriate information will be shared when and if the board takes any action. Board members began deliberating immediately after the hearing but told FOX 2 they had 30 days to take any sort of action or no action at all. 

The teacher has apparently remained on the job without incident so far this school year, though a number of parents with concerns have been allowed to have children moved to a class with a different teacher.