Alabama elementary principal suspended after threatening to 'throat punch' autistic child: report

On Tuesday, The Daily Beast reported that an elementary school principal in Town Creek, Alabama has been suspended after multiple allegations of misconduct, including allowing the paddling of a third-grade student and threatening violence against an autistic student who bumped into her.

"In a March letter from Lawrence County Superintendent Jon Bret Smith, Hazlewood Elementary School Principal Datie Priest was accused of hitting a student 15 times over three days in March," reported Corbin Bolies. "Smith alleged Priest said the student 'would not take a paddling by a white teacher' and was given the choice between 'two licks' by the teacher or 10 by her. Smith also said that, after an autistic student bumped into Priest, she allegedly told two teachers that she would 'throat punch' him if he did it again."

According to Newsweek, corporal punishment is legal in Alabama, although the practice has some limits — students cannot be struck more than three times in a row.

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In addition to these allegations, Priest, who was once fired from a neighboring school district, is also accused of mishandling school funds and repeatedly showing up late to work. She still has the support of the local chapter of the NAACP, who recommended her for the position initially and has called the allegations "discriminatory."

This comes amid other recent reports of problems at Alabama schools. In February, a school in Mountain Brook reprimanded a Jewish student for complaining about a lesson in which the teacher and students were demonstrating Nazi salutes. This all comes as Alabama lawmakers pass legislation seeking to force schools to out transgender children.