PATERSON — A second-grade teacher has been fired for insubordination and inappropriate behavior, including urinating in his Passaic County classroom.

Ron Tuitt had taught in Paterson's schools since 1996.

State Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf approved removing Tuitt's tenure protection and firing him on April 18.

Tuitt has a condition that causes his legs to swell and makes it difficult for him to walk, according to a report on NorthJersey.com. He uses a wheelchair.

The state found the teacher once urinated in a classroom trash can, sometimes urinated in a plastic bottle and asked students to take his waste to the boys' bathroom and flush it, and let students sit in his motorized wheelchair.

Tuitt, who taught at School 13, denied some of the charges and told the state that others were because he was ill and his principal removed some accommodations.

Cerf says any changes were not an excuse for his behavior.

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