KY special-ed teacher arrested for spraying cleaner in face of student who asked for hug

An Oldham County special-education teacher was arrested on Thursday and accused of abusing students, including hitting them with a ball and spraying one of them with an aerosol spray cleaner.

Jamison Woods, 26, of Simpsonville, was charged on Wednesday with first-degree criminal abuse, physical contact harassment with no injury and second-degree official misconduct.

Woods was working as a special-education teacher at Oldham County High School when the incidents occurred, according to a warrant from the Oldham County Police Department that WHAS shared with the Herald-Leader.

On Jan. 28, Woods was in her classroom with a small group of special-education students and demonstrating crisis prevention intervention holds on a 15-year old student with autism, the warrant says.

“There was no justified reason” for Woods to be demonstrating the holds, but the student “was not bothered,” the warrant states.

Afterward, the document says the student asked Woods for a hug, but she refused and told him, “You have nasty germs.”

As the student asked again for a hug, the warrant says Woods went to a cabinet, “retrieved a can of aerosol spray cleaner and sprayed towards his face.”

While the student was initially laughing, the warrant says he “became noticeably uncomfortable” afterward.

His glasses kept the spray from getting in his eyes, but because Woods was within a foot of him and spraying the chemicals directly at him, the cleaner could have gotten in his eyes or lungs, the warrant said.

On Jan. 30, in the same classroom, the warrant says Woods threw a yoga ball at a 15-year-old mentally disabled student and a 14-year-old student with multiple disabilities.

“The ball hit both students in the head/face area multiple times, and neither demonstrated an interest in participating,” the warrant states.

At least one classroom aide witnessed the incident, which the warrant says violated an Oldham County Board of Education policy prohibiting employees from disrupting the educational process.

“We were made aware of allegations involving a teacher at OCHS back in late January,” Oldham County spokesperson Lori Webb told the Herald-Leader on Friday. “The teacher was immediately removed from the school and placed on leave while an investigation, led by (Oldham County Police Department), took place.“

The teacher has not been back on campus since the allegations were brought forward, she said.

“We continue to cooperate with the ongoing investigation and are committed to the safety and well-being of our students, while respecting the privacy of those involved,” Webb said.

Herald-Leader staff writer Karla Ward contributed to this report.