Minnesota superintendent explains 'equity' approach to discipline
Kent Pekel, the Rochester, Minnesota, superintendent, discusses his approach to addressing concerns of violence in schools in an interview with Fox News Digital.
A teacher in a Tennessee high school who confiscated a student's phone was subsequently pepper sprayed by his student, Fox News Digital confirmed.
A video which surfaced on Reddit on May 5 showed the assault in Antioch High School, which racked up millions of views. The teacher was previously decked in the face approximately two months before in a separate incident, and the district told Fox News Digital that disciplinary action was taken in both incidents and were reported to the police.
"Mace? Mace is crazy," a student behind the camera said in the classroom. "She just maced the teacher! Nah."
The video then shows the student follow the teacher outside the classroom.
"She just f---ing pepper-sprayed me," the teacher said.
She tries to reach for her phone, saying "Give me my phone."
She repeatedly demanded her phone and then proceeded to pepper spray the teacher from behind.
The teacher fell onto his knees and started screaming.
As the teacher was on the ground, the student tried to grab her phone again, unsuccessfully.
"Can I get my phone? Can I get my phone? I need my phone!"
The teacher told another faculty member, "She pepper sprayed me."
Student maces teacher in video that went viral on social media. (Screenshot/Reddit)
"Okay, well you took my phone," the student replied. "Can I have my phone?"
"No you can't have your phone," the teacher said. He proceeded to cough from the pepper spray.
The district released a statement to Fox News Digital, which said the student received disciplinary action and that the incident was reported to police.
Student pepper sprays teacher and proceeds to demand her cellphone. (Fox News Digital)
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"The pepper-spray incident at Antioch High School represents a serious violation of law and our school policies, and the student involved has received appropriate disciplinary consequences in accordance with the student-parent handbook. An incident report was filed on Friday with the Metro Nashville Police Department through the school’s SRO for further investigation, and the teacher received immediate medical assistance from the school nurse," the statement read. "Due to FERPA’s student privacy protections, I’m not able to publicly share the specific disciplinary consequences for a student."