Parents warned about dangerous TikTok trend that encourages pupils to harm teachers

Educators say this TikTok challenge is "criminal behavior"

TikTok swiftly became one of the most popular social media platforms for teens, but is it controlling them too much? A new challenge has started trending on TikTok and it is extremely dangerous. The 'Slap a Teacher challenge' has grown in popularity recently and parents need to be aware of it. Experts are urging parents to monitor the content their children are watching on TikTok after numerous reports of teachers being harmed. The Lancaster County School District of South Carolina confirmed a pupil was expelled after participating in the challenge. Speaking about the incident, they shared: "As most people are aware there is a list of challenges that have been circulating on Tik Tok. Prior issues we have had from this social media challenge has centered around vandalism and theft of school property. We have punished multiple students for events around the county schools at all grade levels." "The challenge that has been put out for this month is to slap or hit a staff member from behind. Sadly, we actually had an elementary student assault a teacher by striking her in the back of the head." "This type of behavior just like theft and destruction of property is not a prank. It’s criminal behavior. Any student who physically assaults a staff member will be held responsible both legally and by board policy." "Assault on a staff member is an expellable offense which means the student is removed from the school for the rest of the year. "We share this information with parents so you can educate your kids on the issue and monitor their social media habits." "We also hope parents will speak with their kids about the serious repercussions of making poor decisions and peer pressure." TikTok warned parents about the challenge. It said this challenge is an "insult to educators everywhere". Parents can learn more about using TikTok safely here.