BEN HILL COUNTY, Ga. (WALB) — A substitute teacher in Ben Hill County has been disciplined after reportedly showing a portion of a horror movie to young students in class.

Ben Hill County Schools Superintendent Shane Miller said the district was made aware of the situation Wednesday, Oct. 21. Miller says the sub showed a 20-minute clip of a horror movie to students in a classroom.

Miller emphasizes the sub is not an employee of the school district, but was contracted through an outside agency.

OTHER NEWS FROM WALB:

“Our district takes these matters very seriously. The safety and well-being of all students is our top priority and will continue to be so,” Miller said in a statement sent to WALB.

Miller says the agency the sub was contracted through has been notified, and “appropriate disciplinary actions” have already been taken.

Parents/guardians of all students in the classroom at Ben Hill Middle School where the incident happened will be notified, Miller said.

A parent who contacted WALB about the incident claims her daughter was in the classroom where it happened, and that students were begging the teacher to turn the movie off, with some of them crying. The teacher was reportedly on her phone and ignored the students’ pleas. The parent says the students in the classroom were in grades 6th through 8th.

Have a news tip or see an error that needs correction? Let us know. Please include the article’s headline in your message.

To stay up to date on all the latest news as it develops, follow WALB on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and X. For more south Georgia news, download the WALB News app and add WALB as a preferred source on Google.

Copyright 2026 WALB. All rights reserved.