Mother says substitute teacher at Miami Springs Middle School hit daughter with belt – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports

MIAMI SPRINGS, FLA. (WSVN) – A South Florida mother is outraged and demanding accountability after, she said, a substitute middle school teacher hit her teenage daughter with a belt in class.

Cellphone video shared by the mother shows a substitute teacher at Miami Springs Middle School inside a classroom raising a black belt over a student’s head and putting her hands on the eighth-grade student.

“I’m extremely angry, because you send your kids to school, and you think they’re going to be safe. I mean, as safe as they can be,” said the mother, who asked not to be identified or show her face on camera.

The mother said the incident took place on Tuesday.

“They were in class. Some of the kids were walking around. She got up to throw something away. The teacher told her to go and sit down, and when she was going to sit down, the teacher hit her with a belt,” said the mother.

While the alleged hit by the belt wasn’t caught on camera, video does show several students sitting around the substitute as she has a black belt wrapped around her hand.

“Wait, miss, I’m sorry!” a teen yells to the teacher on the video.

“You’re gonna get hit,” a student said on the video.

In the video, the substitute teacher is seen going more than once toward the student.

“Nothing, nothing, nothing!” the teen is heard yelling in the video.

The mother said this isn’t the first time this teacher has faced problems at the school.

“She also told me this teacher has had incidents with other students and also pinching students,” she said.

Another student reported the teacher’s behavior to the school, which led to the mother receiving a call from the school resource officer.

“I told them to repeat it, because I couldn’t believe what they were calling me, telling me that my daughter was hit by a teacher,” she said. “I did press charges. They have filed a case, and they have been interviewing students.”

Now the mother wants an answer on how this type of behavior is allowed inside Miami-Dade classrooms.

“I don’t wish anyone bad, but I don’t want you working with kids if you think it’s OK to take your belt off and hit a child or pinch a child,” she said.

According to Miami-Dade Schools, they are investigating the allegations and referred to them as disturbing.

In a statement, a spokesperson wrote:

“The individual is precluded from serving as a substitute teacher, or in any other capacity, in the District.”

The identity of the teacher has not been released, as the investigation is underway.

It remains unclear whether or not the substitute teacher will face any charges.

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