HOUSTON, Texas — Lamar High School, like the rest of Houston ISD, was closed on Good Friday.
But a student’s bad behavior that was caught on camera continues to spark reaction. Video showed the 15-year-old punching a teacher in the face during an argument over his cell phone.
"Unfortunately, this kid’s made a huge mistake,” Texas AFT (American Federation of Teachers) president Zeph Capo said.
Capo called on HISD to properly punish the student who we’ve learned is 15 years old.
"By all means, he should not be allowed back on a regular campus," Capo said. "This is not something that needs to be tolerated.”
Capo and other educators don’t believe there could have been anything that warranted that kind of reaction, much less the teacher confiscating a phone which is allowed under certain circumstances in HISD schools.
"Unfortunately, we see too much of this," Capo said. "We see too much of this happening toward our teachers and toward our school employees.”
KHOU recently dug up data on reported assaults against school employees in the Houston area’s largest districts.
It showed at least 520 incidents in the 2021-22 school year, which is more than double any of the five previous years.
The grand total was nearly 1,200 assaults from 2017-2022, according to TEA discipline reports.
“I’ve certainly experienced angry reactions," Capo said. "I’ve certainly experienced students throwing desks across the room.”
But Capo told us he’s never been struck by a student even while working in an alternative school. He commended the Lamar teacher for not fighting back.
"Which is all the more reason I hope that this teacher is supported, that the principal does what they need to do, that the school district follows the law,” Capo said.
In a letter to Lamar families, the principal said this type of behavior won’t be tolerated and that administrators are looking at ways to prevent future incidents.
Meanwhile, we spoke with the student’s father who did not want to comment.
The teacher declined an interview as well.