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A Central Florida teacher is facing misdemeanor battery charges after police said she bit two middle school students over a jar of pickles.
According to NBC affiliate WFLA-TV, the teacher, Rhonda Rice, told Polk County Public Schools administrators she was "playing around with students" regarding the alleged incident.
The incident occurred in October of last year at Bartow Middle School.
The aunt of one of the students involved, Kathy Toro, told WFLA-TV her 15-year-old nephew and one other student were working at the school's store when Rice came in and tried to take the jar.
When the students tried to take the jar back, “She just bit them on the forearm and, of course, they released and she was able to get the pickles but there’s other ways to do that,” told Toro.
The students immediately reported the incident to school administrators and Toro filed charges in November.
According to police, Rice did admit to "licking" the students.
Rice currently is facing two charges and is set to be arraigned on March 31, 2022. She was temporarily relocated to another school after the incident but was ultimately placed on paid administrative leave.