A male teacher at Cal High has been removed from campus after an alleged physical altercation between him and a freshman boy in his class on Nov. 7.

A substitute has replaced the teacher, who administrators removed from class the next day.

It is not known if or when the teacher will return. Administrators declined to comment because it is a personnel issue.

The Californian is not naming the teacher or the boy because there is an ongoing investigation.

Students in the class said the boy was tapping his pencil on his desk during an essay, which was disruptive.

The teacher told the boy to stop,and he did, but he resumed his disruptive behavior a few minutes later, students said.

The teacher then requested  the boy leave the classroom, but he refused at first because there were only five minutes left in class.

The boy eventually complied, but he walked slowly toward door.  In response, the teacher got up and tried to escort the boy out of class.

Eyewitness accounts from students in the class differ about what happened next.

“[The teacher] made physical contact first,” said freshman Maya Thompson. “[The student] pushed [the teacher] in defense.”

But freshman Xander Johns saw things differently.

“[The teacher] escorted him out, and while in the hall, [the boy] shoved the teacher and [the teacher] walked back in,” Johns said.

Freshman Anna Dickey said that the boy punched the teacher at one point.

Freshman Trinm Jain said the student punched the teacher in the face after the bell rang.  Jain also said the teacher put the student in a headlock during the altercation.

Senior Colleen Tolan was in the hallway when the incident occurred. She said she saw the teacher and the boy struggling outside as the teacher tried to pull the boy out of class.

“[The teacher] had his arm over one shoulder and under [the boy’s] other arm,” said Tolan. “I think that was misconstrued as a headlock.”

A few students said the boy continued to be disruptive even once outside the classroom.

“[The boy] kept banging against the door,” freshman Yusef Eason said.  “Then the teacher went out.”

Some students say the student punched the teacher after he went outside to stop the student from hitting the door.

“[The boy] was pushed out of class,” said Thompson.  “He tried to come back in, and stuck his foot in the door.”

Freshman Jordan Findley said the boy and other students antagonized the teacher constantly.

“[The boy] just wanted attention, he does all kinds of stuff to get attention,” said Findley.  “It wasn’t just that [the teacher] got annoyed, these kids were tormenting him.”

Findley also said students who reported the incident to administrators exaggerated what happened to get the teacher fired.

“[He] is a great teacher.” said  freshman Adriana Reynoso.  “The students don’t respect him.”

The teacher did not respond to The Californian after an email was sent asking for an interview.