Florida teacher charged with child abuse after slamming female student to the ground

Jason Parks, 44, an Environmental Science teacher at St. Cloud High School located at 2000 Bulldog Lane in St Cloud, Florida, was arrested Wednesday after witnesses said that he slammed a female student to the ground while he was trying to break up a fight at the school. Police called to the scene said that a fight ensued between two of the students when a male student pulled a chair out from under a female student when she went to sit down.  When the female went to hit the boy who pulled the chair out from under her, “video footage showed the teacher [Parks] slamming the female student into a wall and later to the ground,” according to NBC News in Miami.

Parks has been employed by the Osceola County School District dating back to 2015 and has been teaching at St. Cloud High School since November 2018.  The teacher was taken into custody on Wednesday after arriving at the school to begin his workday.

At about 2:22 p.m. Tuesday, a school resource officer found Parks holding the student against the ground. The girl later told the officer Parks “[expletive] slammed” her to the ground after she got into a fight with another student who had pulled her chair out from under her when she tried to sit down, according to an arrest affidavit.  ~ The Orlando Sentinel

The Osceola County School District reported that Parks has been removed from the classroom “and will not return until a decision is made in his case.”

Principal Nate Fancher responded to the arrest yesterday in a statement he posted to the St. Cloud High School Facebook page.

“As I have maintained open communication with our school community, I feel it is important to inform you of a difficult situation involving our school. The St. Cloud Police Department arrested one of our teachers this morning for simple battery and child abuse, regarding his handling of a student while breaking up a student incident. The teacher will be reassigned out of our school until any and all investigation are finished. Please be assured that the school district and St. Cloud High School take matters of student safety very seriously. Thank you for your continued support and cooperation as we provide the best education for your child.”

Following his arrest on Wednesday, Parks was booked into the Osceola County Jail and charged with child abuse simple battery. He has since bonded out of that facility.  He’s scheduled to go before a judge to face charges today, according to Click Orlando.

~ Posted by: Richard Webster, Ace News Today   /   Follow Richard on Facebook and Twitter