Texas Teacher Suspended for Allegedly Spanking First-Graders

A Texas teacher has been suspended for allegedly spanking her first-grade students.

The suspension was triggered by a complaint from Bill and Stephanie Pappas, who say their 6-year-old son told them Thursday he was afraid to go back to Reuben Johnson Elementary School because his teacher spanks children regularly.

"He bent over the bed put his hands behind his back and said ‘Mom like this she holds our hands down and she spanks our bum,'" Stephanie Pappas told MyFoxDallas-Fort Worth.

The Pappas, who say they have no problem disciplining any of their four children, said they didn't understand why the teacher didn't come to them first.

"If a teacher were to come to me and tell me he's doing this in class I can't control him, he'd be put in time out or he would get a spanking if it warranted it," Stephanie Pappas told the station.

What's of more concern the couple said was that not only did the spankings allegedly take place in front of the class, but according to their son the teacher threatened that they would get worse after Thanksgiving.

"You send your kids to school. You hear about bullying, this, that and the other, but the one person you think your kids are safe from is the teacher or teachers. To hear something like this is upsetting," Bill Pappas told MyFoxDallas-Fort Worth.

The Pappas say they immediately complained to the school's principal.

A McKinney Independent School District spokesman told MyFoxDallas-Fort Worth, "the teacher in question is on administrative leave and is not allowed back on campus until the investigation into this incident is complete. We don't tolerate spanking or any kind of corporal punishment."