Sanford substitute teacher accused of teaching while drunk bonds out of jail

SANFORD, Fla. — A substitute teacher arrested on accusations of teaching students while intoxicated, bonded out of jail Wednesday.

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

Police said that a school resource officer assigned to Bentley Elementary School was notified on 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, slurred her words and had trouble keeping her eyes open.

The resource officer said Joel had a plastic water bottle with a pink liquid in it that smelled of alcohol. Prescription pills were also found in her purse.

Joel will face a judge Wednesday.

Joel only subbed 10 times in two years. She does not have a teaching certificate.

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.

Channel 9 found out that Joel pled no contest to DUI charge in Orange County in 2012, and she refused to take a Breathalyzer test. She served probation for those charges.

Cox Media Group