Special Education Teacher Fired for Dragging 9-Year-Old Student and Permanently Banned from Civil Service

The State Employee Disciplinary Court ordered the immediate dismissal of a special education teacher following her conviction for physically harming a 9-year-old student. The incident occurred in January 2019, involving a student with attention and behavioral difficulties and epilepsy. The teacher was found guilty of forcibly grabbing and dragging the child by his backpack straps several meters while he screamed and cried, causing injury when his pants and underwear fell down and his bare buttocks scraped the ground. She stopped only after another teacher intervened.

Prior to her dismissal, the teacher received a criminal sentence of four months community service, a six-month suspended sentence over three years, a 7,000 shekel compensation to the student's parents, and a 12-month probation order. The teacher had been employed in education since 2009. The disciplinary court emphasized the breach of public trust, especially concerning vulnerable special education students, and the expectations of parents entrusting their children to educators.

Despite the severity, the court considered her acceptance of responsibility, the time elapsed since the event, her overall work record, and personal family and health circumstances. Ultimately, she was given a severe reprimand, immediate dismissal without loss of severance pay, and a permanent ban from working in the Ministry of Education and the civil service.