A former special education teacher at Frontier Public Schools in Oklahoma has been arrested after he was accused of abusing a special needs student.
The Noble County Sheriff’s Office arrested Mike Arnold in January following an incident that took place in a classroom in October 2025. He was then charged with child abuse, domestic assault and battery.
Following his arrest, a spokesperson with the Oklahoma State Department of Education told News 4 that Arnold was fired from the school. He is currently not teaching, though his teaching license remains active. However, the status of his license will be dealt with based on the outcome of the investigation.
Five months after his arrest, News 4 obtained footage from inside the classroom that showed Arnold physically abusing a 6-year-old girl with special needs.
In the footage, he was seen pulling the little girl’s ponytail and aggressively wiping her face. It is not clear what events led Arnold to put his hands on the young victim or if authorities believe the alleged abuse may have happened other times.
The victim’s family is being represented by attorney Shelby Shelton in the case.
“You have a non-verbal six-year-old little girl with a grown man using fear and force to just drag her and pull her around a classroom,” Shelton told the outlet. “It’s illegal, it’s child abuse, and it’s just despicable to watch.”
Court records viewed by News 4 indicate that a teacher’s aide told police the young girl was screaming and crying. Despite the girl clearly being in pain, Arnold appeared to intentionally step on her feet.
Arnold spoke to authorities about the situation and was asked if he believed pulling hair was an acceptable means of controlling a child with special needs. He reportedly claimed that he didn’t remember the incident, though said he believed that pulling hair was not a professional way to discipline a child.
Arnold was taken into custody on January 13 and was released later that day after posting a $25,000 bond, according to online records viewed by Us Weekly.
It is not currently clear if Arnold has entered a plea and an attorney was not immediately able to be contacted. District Attorney Brian Hermanson did not immediately respond to Us’ request for comment regarding the case.
A court date regarding the charges has not yet been publicly announced.
If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Child Help Hotline at 1-800-422-4453.
