Florida substitute teacher accused of being drunk in class

A substitute teacher in Florida was arrested Wednesday after police said she was teaching students while she was intoxicated.

Sanford police said Holly Joel is charged with child neglect, disorderly intoxication and interfering with school administration functions.

Police said a school resource officer assigned to Bentley Elementary School was notified Tuesday by school staff that a substitute teacher was possibly intoxicated while she was working.

Officers said they determined that Joel was under the influence of alcohol and had interfered with “the learning environment necessary for education.”

According to an official report, Joel, 52, fell against a window when she was asked to get up from a desk, and her eyes were closing.

The resource officer said Joel had a plastic water bottle containing a pink liquid that smelled of alcohol.

Joel will face a judge on Wednesday.

The school district said Joel will no longer be a substitute teacher for Seminole County.

Joel was arrested and taken to the John E. Polk Correctional Facility.

WFTV learned that Joel pleaded no contest to DUI in Orange County in 2012, and she refused to take a Breathalyzer test. She served probation for that crime.

Cox Media Group