A Flagler Beach substitute teacher was arrested for kicking a student with disabilities at Matanzas High School, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said.

On Friday, a school resource deputy at Matanzas High School was notified by the school’s assistant principal of the incident involving Bryan Schewitz, 60, of Flagler Beach.

According to an arrest report, one witness said Schewitz forcefully moved the student into a chair during a behavioral episode, then forced the student to place his hands on a table and said, “The gloves are off.” The witness told deputies she felt Schewitz was too rough with the student.

A second witness reported seeing Schewitz kick the student in the leg and later noticed a large mark on the student’s leg. When that witness asked Schewitz about it, Schewitz allegedly replied, “He kicked me, and I kicked him. So now we’re square.”

Schewitz told deputies the student arrived late, refused to sit and began kicking toward him, causing him to accidentally kick the student in return. He later gave conflicting statements about whether he made the “square” remark to the witness, deputies said.

The student’s mother later contacted deputies to report that skin was missing from her child’s leg and provided photographs of the injury, the report states.

“It is never okay for a faculty member to strike a student, especially out of anger or frustration,” said Sheriff Rick Staly.

Flagler Schools Superintendent LaShakia Moore also responded to the incident, saying, “This kind of behavior will not be tolerated on our campuses.”

Schewitz was charged with child abuse without great bodily harm and booked into the Flagler County Jail and was later released on bond.