Mesquite Independent School District Takes Action After Substitute Teacher Encourages Students to Fight in Classroom

A substitute teacher in Mesquite, Texas was fired Thursday after an investigation revealed that she had encouraged students to fight each other in her classroom.

The Mesquite Independent School District said in a statement that the substitute teacher, who has been employed since March, had outlined rules for the students to follow and even instructed a student to monitor the classroom door while the fights took place.

The district learned of the incident after a video surfaced showing fights in the teacher’s classroom at Kimbrough Middle School on Wednesday. The district launched an immediate investigation and determined that the teacher’s actions were “appalling and intolerable.”

The substitute teacher was not identified, and the district said it is continuing to investigate the incident.

The Mesquite Independent School District said it is committed to providing a safe and secure learning environment for all students and that it will not tolerate any behavior that compromises the safety of its students. The district said it is taking steps to ensure that all substitute teachers are properly trained and that it will continue to monitor the situation closely.