Authorities had to forcibly remove a teacher from campus after allegedly abusing a disabled student under her care.
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According to the Walton County Sheriff's Office, an ESE Teacher, Tonya Gainey, was arrested and charged with child abuse following an event on Wednesday, December 11th, 2024. ESE, or Exceptional Student Education Teachers, work with disabled children and those with special needs.
Video surveillance caught Gainey as she "slammed down" the arm of a non-verbal three-year-old child during lunchtime. The footage then shows the teacher "throwing away the student's food and ignoring him for the rest of the period." The report notes that the child was "crying and in pain."
It's unknown what triggered this strange behavior from the special needs teacher or the events beforehand.
The incident happened at the Wise Center in DeFuniak Springs, Florida, and was brought to the attention of the School Administration on the evening of Tuesday, December 10th.
The ESE Teacher Refused To Leave School Property
The Sheriff's Office report describes the events which occurred on Wednesday morning. School Administrators notified Gainey that she was being reassigned to "remove her from having further contact with students until the conclusion of the investigation."
Gainey was uncooperative and refused to leave the campus. The report doesn't go into detail, but her behavior eventually led to her being escorted off-site by the authorities. The former ESE teacher sent in her resignation via email shortly after.
Tonya Gainey was ultimately arrested and charged on Friday, December 13th, 2024, and transported to Okaloosa County Jail. Sheriff Michael Adkinson said the following regarding the outcome:
"Our agency worked diligently to assess the full scope of the situation. Her (Gainey's) behavior is unacceptable, and the charges reflect that."
This story is eerily similar to another which took place recently in Texas. School authorities promptly fired a teacher after she refused her student's access to the bathroom.
In this incident, a first-grade class lost a hall pass "required for toilet breaks." The teacher used the opportunity to teach a life lesson, even if it meant several students urinated in their clothes.
