The Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand is considering complaints made against an Auckland teacher who wore a 'Make America Great Again' hat to a Black Lives Matter protest.
Ethan Aloiai, who works at Manukau Christian School, came under fire following Monday's protest in Auckland after he shared a video on Facebook of him and his brothers-in-law at the march wearing the signature Donald Trump caps.
He has since apologised and said wearing the hat gave unintended messages.
"I understand that to some people the hat represented a symbol of white supremacy and my wearing of it provoked them in unhelpful ways," he wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday.
"The hat does not mean to me what it means to many others, as many prominent black figures and celebrities such as Kanye West and Candace Owens regularly wear the same hat. I was in no way trying to communicate a message of racism."
The teaching council's chief executive Lesley Hoskin said in a statement it's received reports about concerns of Aloiai's hat and his Facebook video, and it encourages people to raise any issues with his school first.
"We have received notification about concerns regarding Mr Aloiai and his MAGA hat and video post on Facebook," she said.
"We aren't able to comment further on this as we are at the early stages of considering the information we have received.
"All teachers are committed to upholding the Code of Professional Responsibility and Standards for the Teaching Profession, which were crafted with and for the profession. These set out the high standards for ethical behaviour that is expected of every teacher."
The Code includes "promoting inclusive practices", "managing my assumptions and personal beliefs", and "respecting the diversity of the heritage, language, identity and culture of all learners".
Hoskin said all investigations into allegations or concerns are informed by the Code and Standards, and it will look into whether a teacher has breached them.
She added teachers are members of society who are allowed to hold personal beliefs and opinions and engage in civil discourse, but they must manage their assumptions and views while teaching.
"Children and young people should be encouraged into learning critical thinking skills and making their own judgements about political, religious and societal issues."
