Parents say principal told students to rub floor, lick fingers as punishment

TEAGUE, Texas (WPVI) -- Some parents in Texas are outraged after they say their children were forced to rub the floor with their hands and then lick their fingers.

The Teague Independent School District is investigating the alleged incident involving the principal's disciplinary actions with a group of fourth-grade boys that happened Friday at Teague Intermediate School.

The investigation began after information about the incident spread on social media over Mother's Day weekend.

Adrienne Acosta, has a son in the fourth grade at the school and wrote the Facebook post.

According to what her son told her, the school's principal, Vickey Little, called all of the fourth-grade boys into the school's cafeteria on Friday.

"They were told to sit down. The principal told them the reason they were in there was because a bad word was written on the wall and that nobody would admit to who did it. So she told them to sit down on the floor, to slap hands to each person that was next to them, to rub the floor in a frontward circular motion and then in a backward circular motion, and then to lick their finger," Acosta said, recounting what her son told her.

Acosta said Little should have found another way to punish the students.

"When I went to school, we had punishment as far as writing sentences. It could've been something done different than them to sit there and lick their hands off of this nasty floor," she said.

Multiple parents commented on Acosta's Facebook post, confirming what their sons told them of the same incident.

Some of those parents met with Teague ISD superintendent Dr. Nate Carman and Little on Monday morning to find out exactly what happened.

Carman released this statement about the meeting:

"We met with parents who came to the Intermediate this morning and listened to their concerns. This situation is still being investigated."

"Little admitted it, that she did tell them that," Lisa Echols, whose grandson is in the fourth grade, told Simmons after the meeting ended. "She doesn't need to be principal at all. I hate to see anybody lose their job. And when you want to make some kids do this, I wouldn't do my dog like this. I wouldn't do an animal like this. There's a way to treat and handle situations."

Others can't believe the accusations Little is facing.

"No, I would not think she would do something. That's not the kind of person I've always seen her as. She did admit, and it shocked me, ... because we all looked up to her and we all know her, and that's not the kind of person she is," concerned parent Latresha Phillips said.

Carman declined to do an on-camera interview with Simmons on Monday but said in an email the situation is still under investigation.

"You will have to contact the superintendent. Don't believe everything you hear on social media," Little said to KXXV-TV.

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