A Minnesota teacher’s attempt to make a point during a school lockdown drill has cost him his career.
Jason Rogers, a 350-pound science teacher, avoided jail after admitting he stood on students because he believed they were not taking the safety drill seriously. Instead, the 49-year-old has been ordered to write apology letters to the children involved.
Rogers was also ordered Tuesday to surrender his teaching license, roughly a year after the Feb. 10, 2025, incident at Underwood School in Minnesota, according to court documents reviewed by the Minnesota Star-Tribune. One student was left in such pain that he was “walking around like an 80-year-old” and crying, the records said.
The former fifth- and sixth-grade teacher stood for about 10 seconds on the back of a boy who was lying face down, effectively using the child like a “stepping stool,” according to the documents.
The student reportedly did not understand why Rogers had stepped on him. Rogers later told police he “didn’t feel the class was taking the drill seriously.”
Rogers, who also coached wrestling and football at the school, claimed he had “placed his foot onto the lower back” of the student and stepped away once he realized the boy was sobbing, the court records said.
He later acknowledged stepping on two additional students.
Rogers resigned from his teaching position in April 2025 and pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts of malicious punishment, offenses that each carry a possible sentence of up to one year in jail and/or a $3,000 fine.
He was given probation and his rap sheet will be wiped if he doesn’t commit any further offenses.
He must complete an anger management course, carry out 90 hours of community service, and write letters of apology to his victims. Rogers was also fined $2,250.
Despite Rogers losing his teaching license, his lawyer Daniel Repka vowed the ex-educator is a “good guy.”
“He made a really unfortunate decision that led to the end of his career, and he just wants to move on,” he said.
