Substitute Teacher in Las Vegas Engages in Physical Altercation with Student Over Racial Slur

A video of a substitute teacher in Las Vegas getting into a physical fight with a high school student went viral. Re’Kwon Smith, 27, was teaching at Valley High School when he asked the student to leave the classroom for using a racial slur. The student allegedly initiated physical contact by grabbing Smith’s shirt, but Smith escalated the situation by trading punches with the student. The substitute teacher was seen striking the boy even after he was knocked down. Other students had to physically separate the two. The student was arrested on unspecified charges, while Smith was charged with battery resulting in serious bodily harm, assault of a school pupil, interfering with a student attending school, and threatening bodily harm to a public school student. The school district condemned the violence and stated that any altercation between a teacher and a student is thoroughly investigated. Smith had been working for the district since November 2023 but has been removed from the list of eligible substitute teachers.