Verna Gray of Port Allen and Trinia Smith of Baton Rouge are both on administrative leave. They were given misdemeanor summonses yesterday for simple battery. Both women teach at Merrydale Elementary. Neither was booked into jail, and neither could be reached for comment. Gray allegedly hit a child with a ruler on May 4th, and Smith allegedly grabbed another student's arm May 17t.
Authorities say the students' families reported the incidents to the sheriff's office.
Simple battery carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a fine of five hundred dollars.