A video that went viral of a 15-year-old student of the Lamar Houston high school beating up a teacher has caused anger and calls for action
The student got into trouble after the teacher took away his cell phone during class. Here is all you need to know about the incident.
In the video, which has been shared on social media, the student can be seen asking for his “f*****g phone” over and over again before punching the teacher in the face. The teacher told the student to sit down, but the student wouldn’t, and he or she got more and more upset.
Lamar High School Houston teacher attacked by student after confiscating phone, video goes viral
“Give me my f—king phone, n—a!”
A student confronted & punched a teacher at Lamar High School in Houston, Texas. pic.twitter.com/pZr8UzVCwA
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) April 7, 2023
The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is upset about what happened and wants the student to be banned from normal campus. “Unfortunately, this kid’s made a huge mistake,” AFT president Zeph Capo told KHOU. “By all means, he should not be allowed back on a regular campus. This is not something that needs to be tolerated.”
HISD rules allow teachers to confiscate phones in certain situations
Under the rules of the Houston Independent School District (HISD), teachers can take away phones in certain situations, just how recently Houston Teacher did. Rita Graves, the principal of Lamar High School, told parents in a letter that the school was looking into what happened and taking steps to stop it from happening again.
“We do not condone and will not tolerate this type of behavior. It is always our top priority to maintain an environment where our students and staff are safe,” the letter stated. “Administrators will be looking into the cause of the altercation and continue to evaluate ways to prevent these occurrences in the future.”
Sharp increase in assaults on teachers in HISD schools
A report says that there were 520 attacks on teachers in HISD schools during the 2021-2022 school year. This is more than twice as many as there were in the five years before. From 2017 to 2021, there were about 1,200 assaults on teachers and other school workers, according to TEA discipline records.
Concerns have been made about the safety of teachers and students in Houston schools because of this event, and people are talking about the need for stricter rules to keep this from happening again.