Backstory posted just for posterity -
KYLE, Texas — A substitute teacher at Lehman High School in Kyle has been fired and charged after videos posted on social media appeared to show her fighting with a student.
KVUE spoke with the school district and a student in the classroom, who confirmed that the video circulating on social media captured the incident. In the video, you can see the teacher punching the student multiple times, pulling her from her desk and stomping on her head. Another video also shows the student striking the teacher as she was grasping her in her seat.
The Hays County Sheriff's Office identified the teacher as Tiffani Shadell Lankford, 32. Officials said the student involved was 15 or 16 years old.
The sheriff's office said Lankford was arrested on-site after school resource officers responded. She was charged with aggravated assault, a second-degree felony.
A 10th grader who was in the class and didn't want to be identified told KVUE Lankford was passing out papers and students were laughing. The student said Lankford became increasingly aggravated, before getting into a verbal altercation with the victim.
"The student said 'shut up' back. She said, 'No, you shut up,' and the teacher got in the student's face and put her hand on her chest and her other hand on her arm," the 10th grader said. "The student swung, because she was in her face and pressing her. The teacher put down her glasses – she swung like three times, pulled her to the ground and stomped on her head."
The 10th grader's father, who also didn't want to be identified, was shocked when he saw the video.
"You wouldn't expect a teacher, or someone who knows better, an adult, to actually attack a child in that manner – it's just mind-blowing," the 10th grader's father said. "I don't know what a child could say to an adult that would make someone lose their mind like that and actually physically hurt somebody."
Officials said the victim was released to her father, who then took her to a local hospital. Meanwhile, Lankford was transported to the Hays County Jail, where she awaits magistration Saturday morning.
