MARIANNA, Fla. (WMBB) — A Marianna High School administrator is no longer facing legal charges for abusing a student but her future in education is still in limbo.
A judge dismissed battery charges against Marianna High School Assistant Principal Sybil Rivers. Rivers was accused of grabbing a student by her ponytail in 2019.
Jackson County School District officials suspended her from her position and the student and her mother pursued charges against Rivers in the judicial system.
However, in documents unsealed today, the judge dismissed the case ruling Rivers’s actions were covered under an educator’s ability to dispense corporal punishment and did not constitute battery.
As for her job, Deputy Superintendent Cheryl McDaniel said a hearing has been scheduled for next month to determine if Rivers violated district policy and if she’ll be reinstated or fired.
