A Florida substitute teacher was arrested after allegedly kicking a student with disabilities in the leg and telling a witness he had done it to “even the score,” authorities said.
Bryan Schewitz, 60, was taken into custody Friday following the alleged confrontation at Matanzas High School in Flagler County, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said.
When a witness asked about a prominent mark on the student’s leg, Schewitz allegedly replied, “He kicked me and I kicked him. So now we’re square,” investigators said.
Schewitz, a Flagler Beach resident who was working at the school as a substitute, faces a charge of child abuse without great bodily harm.
The incident reportedly began Friday as the student, whose disability has not been identified, struggled with behavioral issues during class, according to investigators.
A witness told authorities that Schewitz used excessive force while trying to place the student in a chair. He then allegedly directed the child to put his hands on a table and warned, “The gloves are off.”
The witness said Schewitz’s handling of the student made her feel uncomfortable.
A second witness reported seeing Schewitz kick the student and later noticing a large mark on the child’s leg.
The student’s mother later told deputies that skin had been torn from her child’s leg. She also provided photographs of the injury, according to WKMG, which cited the arrest report.
School officials questioned the student, who confirmed that Schewitz had kicked him, authorities said.
Schewitz offered deputies a different version of events, maintaining that the contact had been accidental.
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He said the student arrived late, refused to sit down and began kicking in his direction before striking Schewitz’s leg.
Schewitz told investigators that he extended his own foot and unintentionally kicked the student.
He also alleged that the student had been walking around the classroom and trying to poke classmates with a pencil. Schewitz said he guided the child toward an empty chair by the shoulder.
The substitute acknowledged placing the student’s hands on a table and issuing a stern warning that “the gloves were coming off,” investigators said.
When investigators questioned him about allegedly saying that he and the student were now square, Schewitz first denied making the remark, then said he was unsure whether he had said it.
He continued to insist, however, that the kick was accidental, authorities said.
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly condemned the alleged actions, saying adults responsible for children — especially students with disabilities — are expected to remain calm and levelheaded.
Flagler Schools Superintendent LaShakia Moore also said protecting students remains the district’s top priority.
“This kind of behavior will not be tolerated on our campuses,” Moore said.
Schewitz was booked into the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility and released Saturday on $2,500 bond, according to the sheriff’s office.
It was not immediately clear whether Schewitz had been suspended, fired or removed from the school district’s substitute teaching roster.
