Texas students burned from gym class teacher’s punishment

A physical education teacher is under investigation in the Houston area after several students reported burn injuries following exercises the coach made them do as punishment, according to local reports.

Four students at Anthony Aguirre Junior High who tried to get out of running laps on Monday as temperatures soared above 90 degrees suffered the injuries after the gym teacher reportedly forced them to instead do bear crawls.

Wendy Alvarez, a parent of one of the punished students, described her son’s injuries in an interview with KRIV.

“Now his hands are burnt. He has second degree burns. I took him to the ER yesterday. He said ‘My hands feel like they’re on fire.’ He had a fever last night,” Alvarez told the outlet.

“My son…he has nose bleeds and things, so he didn’t want to run. It was too hot. Him and four other kids, they went, and they were hiding behind the bleachers. The coach found them and I guess punished them by making them do bear crawls,” Alvarez said.

The heat index was 102 that day, the local FOX station estimates, as the students were on all fours on a blistering track. Alvarez’s son has second-degree burns, she claimed.

The teacher is under investigation, the Channelview Independent School District said in a statement.

“The teacher has been removed from the classroom and placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation,” the district said.

“Channelview ISD does not condone aversive discipline techniques that may cause physical pain to a student in any way. We take these situations very seriously as the safety of our students is always our top priority.”