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June 28, 2010
Judge Tom
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Cell phone catches teacher beating student

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Isaiah Reagins was a student at Jamie’s House Charter School in Houston, Texas.  On April 29, 2010 he was assaulted in his classroom by his science teacher, 40-year-old Sheri Lynn Davis.  Another student filmed the incident on his cell phone.

The video shows Davis shoving, kicking and dragging 13-year-old Isaiah across the classroom floor as he apologized for whatever he had done and tried to protect himself.  He suffered a black eye and other bruises in the minute-long attack.

Davis with Isaiah on floor

It is reported that Davis said she was sorry and was “without excuse” for the beating.  She was fired the following week and has since been sued by Isaiah’s mother. In June, 2010, she was charged with injury to a child, a third-degree felony.  If convicted Davis faces 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.  Three others at the school were also charged with failure to report child abuse, a misdemeanor.  If convicted, the school superintendent, principal and another teacher face up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

Every state has mandatory reporting laws requiring specific people to report child abuse and neglect. Those in positions of care and responsibility for children are included.  For example, dentists, nurses, chiropractors, psychologists, school personnel and doctors are often included in those who, under penalty of law, must report incidents of abuse to Child Protective Services within a certain number of hours after suspecting abuse.

For more about failure to report, click here.

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The Author Judge Tom

Judge Tom is the founder and moderator of AsktheJudge.info. He is a retired juvenile judge and spent 23 years on the bench. He has written several books for lawyers and judges as well as teens and parents including 'Teen Cyberbullying Investigated' (Free Spirit Publishing) and 'Every Vote Matters: the Power of Your Voice, from Student Elections to the Supreme Court' (Free Spirit Publishing). In 2020, the American Bar Association published "Cyberbullying Law," the nation's first case-law book written for lawyers, judges and law students. When he's not answering teens' questions, Judge Tom volunteers with the American Red Cross and can be found hiking, traveling and reading.

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1 Comment

  • Jake
    June 29, 2010 11:21 am count( 0 )

    This kid did something to set this teacher off and now she is facing jail time and he is looking at a government sponsored pay day. There is no excuse for this teachers behavior however if we expect teachers to control classroom behavior and at the same time litigate away all avenues of discipline we can’t act surprised when teaches snap. This is another wake up call for a failing education system.
    Thanks, Jake, for your views.