School leaders fire Boca Raton Middle School teacher who put student in chokehold, hit kids with yardstick

In a move that runs contrary to advice from a judge who weighed in on the case in September, Palm Beach County's school board voted last week to fire Boca Raton Middle School teacher Victor Lopez after he put at least one student in a chokehold during class.

Students also said Lopez called them nicknames like "Knucklehead," "Shaniqua" and "Oompa Loompa" in math class. He'd previously been suspended by the district in 2022 for hitting a student with a yardstick.

Lopez, who was employed by the school district for nearly 20 years, will be suspended without pay for 15 days. His termination, decided during a board meeting Wednesday, Dec. 13, will be effective after the suspension is complete in late January.

School board members said Lopez's history of discipline showed he'd gotten too many chances.