An elementary school teacher in Northern California will not face charges for allegedly being drunk while teaching in a classroom, a local district attorney's office said Monday.
Wendy Munson, a second-grade teacher at Nuestro Elementary School in Live Oak, California, was arrested on Oct. 2, 2023, for charges of DUI and child endangerment.
Sutton County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to reports of a teacher who allegedly drove to school drunk, and they reported that they saw her visibly impaired while teaching students.
A fellow staff member at Nuestro Elementary School reportedly contacted police, who said Munson was in the middle of teaching students when officers confronted her.
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After failing a sobriety test, she was arrested.
But on Monday, Sutter County District Attorney Jennifer Dupre’s office announced Munson would not be facing charges.
"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."
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Dupre’s office also said the requirements for child endangerment could not be met because there was no information that indicated the children in Munson’s classroom were ever in a position where they were endangered.
"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."
When Munson was arrested at the elementary school in October, Nuestro Elementary School District Superintendent Baljinder Dhillon told parents in a letter that she had been escorted off campus and taken into custody.
FOX 11 in Los Angeles reported that Dhillon told the parents the students did not witness the arrest and that the second-grade students Munson taught would be getting a long-term substitute.
Dhillon did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on Munson’s status as a teacher.
The DA’s office said the dropping of charges against Munson does not impact decisions made by Dhillon regarding her employment status.
