Court says Ohio teacher wrongly sanctioned

COLUMBUS (AP) — An appeals court says a central Ohio special-needs preschool teacher shouldn’t have permanently lost her teaching license after her attempt to restrain a 4-year-old student left bloody scrapes on the boy’s back.

The Franklin County Court of Appeals judge ruled that the sanction by the Ohio Board of Education calls into question whether teachers should be punished for making a “reasonable exercise” in professional judgment.

The Columbus Dispatch reports that the board last year found that Sherry Orth violated the state’s professional-conduct rules because she injured a student, failed to properly report the incident and did not immediately administer first aid.

In a ruling last week, Judge Gary Tyack directed the case back to the state for a new decision. Officials have not decided yet how to proceed.