Substitute teacher accused of slapping special needs student

A former substitute teacher for the Cobb County School District is accused of hitting a special needs student last week at Hillgrove High School.

Charles Lenis Black is charged with one count of simple battery, which is a misdemeanor, according to Cobb County Adult Detention Center records.

According to an arrest warr a nt obtained by a Cobb County Schools officer, Black was inside a Hill- grove classroom when he allegedly slapped the stu- dent on the face sometime between 3:15 p.m. Dec. 11 and 11 a.m. Dec. 12.

Black said he was “attempting to correct” the behavior of the student, who was touching a computer, the warrant states. The substitute teacher touched the stu- dent’s arm and “instructed the victim not to touch the computer again,” according to the warrant.

“Said accused states the vic- tim, who is a non-verbal, special-needs student, slapped him on the side of his face/ head area,” the warrant adds. “Said accused states he struck the victim with an open-hand slap to the side of his face due to the victim striking him.”

According to a Hillgrove High School newsletter for February through April 2018, Black was named substitute of the month for February of that year. According to the teacher who nominated him, Black was commended for “his show of appreciation of the opportunity to share in working with the students at Hillgrove.”

Black, 79, of Marietta, was booked into the Cobb County jail Friday and was released the same day with a $1,320 bond.

The Cobb County School District said it’s aware of the investigation and that Black is no longer employed by the system. Due to federal privacy laws, the district said it cannot comment on the allegations. Cobb schools said it encourages everyone to submit safety concerns to the SafeSchools Alert tip line at cobbk12-ga.safeschoolsalert.com.