A pre-kindergarten teacher at St. Cloud Elementary was arrested Sunday evening after surveillance video allegedly showed her grabbing, dragging and shoving a young student during recess. Kathryn Garcia now faces a child abuse charge stemming from an incident that two fellow teachers say they witnessed firsthand on the playground.
The incident unfolded Thursday, October 1, after the student reportedly became upset when recess ended and sat down on the ground, according to a police report cited by WKMG. Police said surveillance footage showed Garcia grabbing the child's left arm and pulling him up from the ground aggressively, then kicking his legs and dragging him across the concrete by that same arm. The report also said Garcia placed both hands around the child's neck from behind and shoved him face-first into a chain-link fence, and that video appeared to show her striking him in the upper torso.
Two teachers on the playground that day reported what they saw to school administration. One witness told investigators she saw Garcia jerk the child off the ground by his wrist two to three times, drop him more than once, kick and shuffle him across the ground, grab him by the neck with both hands, and shove him into the fence. A second witness also reported seeing the incident.
School and State Response
School administration was notified the same day and removed Garcia from the classroom, while the Osceola County School Board was also informed of the incident. School staff reported the matter to the Florida Department of Children and Families, which initially accepted the report but later determined it did not meet its criteria for involvement. The student's parents were contacted by the school, and the child was examined and cleared by the school nurse. The student's mother later signed an affidavit of prosecution.
Garcia is charged with child abuse for simple assault or battery under Florida Statute 827.03(2c). She told investigators that the child was upset recess was ending and said she lifted him from underneath his arms as he struggled, but said she did not recall grabbing his neck. Garcia declined to provide a written statement, per the police report.
Video Evidence and Next Steps
The incident was captured on surveillance video.
The case echoes another Central Florida arrest from the same day: Fada Concepcion, a seventh-grade science teacher at Tuskawilla Middle School, was arrested October 1 for suspected child abuse after a student said she dragged him by the arm from his desk, out of the classroom and into the hallway, according to FOX 35 Orlando. That incident was also captured on the school's surveillance cameras.
A Broader Pattern in Florida Schools
A WUSF series published December 14, 2025, examined misconduct cases in the School District of Manatee County.
Under Florida law, reports of suspected child abuse, abandonment or neglect may be made in writing, through the statewide toll-free telephone number or electronically, according to the Florida Statutes. Separately, the Florida Department of Education's Office of Professional Practices Services investigates legally sufficient allegations of misconduct by certified educators when the conduct could warrant a sanction against their certificate, which can range from a letter of reprimand to suspension or revocation, according to the Florida Department of Education. The department notes that not every alleged violation of its professional conduct standards results in discipline against a certificate.
