Accused of injuring a student, Hirschi teacher put on leave
Wichita Falls ISD officials have placed a teacher accused of injuring a student on paid administrative leave, an official said. The district is conducting an internal investigation.
Jeremieh Mathue Taylor, 44, has been charged with injury to a child in connection with Nov. 1 allegations, court records show.
Taylor was free from the Wichita County Law Enforcement Center Monday on a $5,000 bond, according to online jail records.
Injury to a child is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Taylor is an agriculture teacher who began working at Hirschi High School and the Career Education Center at the beginning of this school year, WFISD Communications Officer Ashley Thomas said by email.
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A WFISD police officer began investigating the incident after being called to the Hirschi principal's office about 1:25 p.m. Nov. 1, according to court documents.
Taylor told the officer that a student he was escorting to the principal's office was being defiant, belligerent and cursing at him, according to allegations in an affidavit. Taylor said he restrained the student because he elbowed him in the chest when he tried to take him to the office.
Video footage at one point showed the teacher putting the student into an unapproved restraint and jerking him toward the office, according to allegations in an affidavit.
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Taylor changed to the handle-with-care restraint and walked the student, who did not try to hurt the teacher or himself during the altercation, to the office, according to allegations in an affidavit.
The student told the officer that his shoulders hurt, and he didn't understand why the teacher was being so aggressive over a phone, according to allegations in a court document.
The student's mother told the officer she wanted to press charges and emailed him photos of the juvenile's injuries, according to allegations in a court document.
Taylor holds teacher certifications in core subjects for early childhood through sixth grade and for agriculture, food and natural resources, according to the State Board for Educator Certification. His certificates are listed as valid until Jan. 31, 2025.
Thomas said that before Taylor worked at Hirschi and the CEC, he taught at Lamar Elementary School from 2018 through 2021.
He was recognized in "District in Pictures" when he was a fifth-grade science teacher at Lamar for helping create a list of the school clinic's needs. It was then fulfilled by a local business.
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Trish Choate, enterprise watchdog reporter for the Times Record News, covers education, courts, breaking news and more. Contact Trish with news tips at tchoate@gannett.com. Her Twitter handle is @Trishapedia.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Hirschi teacher on paid administrative leave
