Florida teacher says he lost his job after refusing to give half-credit to students who did not go to work

A Florida history professor said Monday that she was fired for refusing to give half credit to students who had not returned.

Diane Tirado, 52, said West Gate K-8 school in Port St. Lucie has a "zero zero" policy, requiring teachers to give students no less than a 50% grade on homework.

Tirado posted a photo on her Facebook page of a note left on a whiteboard to her students, telling them that she was being fired. The photo became viral and was shared more than 1,600 times Wednesday morning.

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"Goodbye children. Mrs. Tirado loves you and wishes you the best in life! I was fired for refusing to give you 50 percent for not getting anything back, "read the message.

Tirado told WPTV that she was a teacher for 17 years and had been hired by the school in August. She said that she had been fired on September 14, but no dismissal letter from the school principal was provided for a specific cause, since Tirado was still on probation after being recently hired.

She told the station that she had assigned a draft notebook to her students and gave them two weeks to complete the work. She said that some students did not bring the task, and that was when she learned the school's policy.

"And if they do not return anything?" Said Tirado, she asked the administrators. "We give them a 50." I'm going, 'Oh, we do not do it. This is not kosher. "

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Kerry Padrick, the communications manager for St. Lucia Public Schools, told WPTV in a statement that Tirado had been fired "shortly after a month of classes."

"There is no district or individual school policy prohibiting teachers from registering a zero mark for work not rendered," the statement said. "The uniform classification system of the district uses the letters A to F, the numerical scores 100 to 0 and the average marks from 4 to 0."

In another district statement to WPTV, the school denied Tirado's claims and stated that she was "released from her teaching duties because her performances were deemed substandard and that its interactions with students, staff and parents culture on the school campus.

"During his brief period of employment at West Gate, the school has made numerous complaints from students and parents, as well as concerns from colleagues," the statement said. "Based on new information shared with school administrators, an investigation into possible physical abuse is under way."

Fox News's request for comment from the St. Lucie and Tirado public schools was not immediately postponed.

Tirado told WPTV that she had denied "any criminal allegation" and that she was "trying to sue the district for defamation."

Associated Press contributed to this report.