Should a teacher be punished after striking a student in self-defense?
The incident in question dates back to November of 2017, when a 15-year-old student tried to enter his Greenville County school building like he normally did.
On this day, though, a teacher happened to be blocking the way.
So the student – who, it should be noted, has severe autism and other mental impairments – punched the teacher in the head, what the teacher later described as a “haymaker” that struck him hard in the left side of his face.
But it’s the teacher’s response to that punch that is now the subject of a lawsuit.
The teacher reacted by punching the student back, which broke the student’s nose.
At the time, no charges were filed against either the teacher or the student. But now the student’s parents have filed a lawsuit against the school.
Their attorney said it’s not relevant whether the student threw the first punch, as the teacher was supposed to know how to deal with students and situations like this.
Punching a student, regardless of whether it was provoked, is counter to state and federal Department of Education policy.
Beth Brotherton, spokesperson for Greenville County Schools, said the teacher just reacted instinctively to an unexpected assault by defensively swinging back, and that the teacher was visibly distraught afterwards. She described the teacher as known to be caring toward all students, including this student involved in the incident.
