Florida Teacher Charged After Biting Students Over Jar of Pickles: Police

A Florida teacher is facing criminal charges over allegations she bit two students in a dispute over a jar of pickles.

According to WFLA, Bartow police and the Florida state attorney's office have filed two misdemeanor battery charges against Polk County educator Rhonda Rice. She is due to be arraigned on March 31.

The charges relate to an alleged incident that took place at Bartow Middle School in October 2021.

Kathy Toro told WFLA her 15-year-old nephew and another student were allegedly bitten by Rice, who was working there as a teacher, after she attempted to take a jar of pickles from the school store the pair were manning at the time.

When the two students tried to take the jar off Rice, she allegedly bit them both.

Toro told the news outlet: "She just bit them on the forearm and, of course, they released and she was able to get the pickles but there's other ways to do that."

The incident was reported to school administrators who contacted Toro. She subsequently filed charges with Bartow police in November 2021.

Toro told WFLA: "I think she needs to learn what she did and what she did was wrong."

In a statement issued to the news provider, Polk County Public Schools spokesperson Jason Geary said: "Although she described her actions as playing around with students, we expect our employees to act professionally and serve as models of mature behavior. They must set a good example for students to follow, and anything less is unacceptable."

Rice is reportedly no longer working at Bartow Middle School after being placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of a review. Following the completion of said review, she was suspended for three days and subsequently relocated to Sleepy Hill Middle School.

In a Bartow police affidavit obtained by WFLA, Rice admits to licking the students.

This claim, however, is refuted by Toro who told the news provider: "Even if it was and she did lick him, but I don't believe she did, it's still not acceptable to me."

According to WFLA, Rice has faced disciplinary action on four previous occasions during her 22 years as a teacher in the Polk County Public Schools system.

These incidents range from warnings over a lack of preparation for classes to use of a district-issued computer for personal matters during time assigned for planning lessons.

Newsweek has contacted Bartow police for comment.

The incident is the latest to see a teacher facing criminal charges.

In January, a high school educator in Georgia was arrested after allegedly shoving a student to the ground during a classroom argument.

In February, a New York gym teacher was also arrested after allegedly slamming a 14-year-old student into a wall and hurling him to the ground. The incident was captured on video.

That same month in Georgia, a teacher was arrested on assault charges for allegedly attacking two students with a computer charger, repeatedly striking one in the head.