A high school student in Texas punched his teacher square in the face … a frightening encounter captured on video.

The violent outburst happened at Lamar High School in Houston, where footage shows a student arguing with a male teacher who had, apparently, taken the kid’s phone for some reason — then suddenly the student threw a haymaker.

They were face-to-face when the teen reached back and uncorked a right hook, landing flush on the teacher’s jaw. Shocked onlookers screamed as the student threw more punches, and the video abruptly cuts off.

Students are sharing the video all over social media, and parents with kids at the school are obviously outraged.

The school’s principal reportedly sent a note to parents saying the school does not condone or tolerate this type of behavior. The principal says, “Administrators will be looking into the cause of the altercation and continue to evaluate ways to prevent these occurrences in the future.”

The teacher hasn’t been identified by name and hasn’t publicly commented about the incident. It’s another example of the increase in student violence against teachers in schools across the country

“Unfortunately, this kid’s made a huge mistake,” Texas AFT (American Federation of Teachers) president Zeph Capo said. Capo called on HISD to properly punish the student who we’ve learned is 15 years old.

“By all means, he should not be allowed back on a regular campus,” Capo said. “This is not something that needs to be tolerated.”

Capo and other educators don’t believe there could have been anything that warranted that kind of reaction, much less the teacher confiscating a phone which is allowed under certain circumstances in HISD schools.

“Unfortunately, we see too much of this,” Capo said. “We see too much of this happening toward our teachers and toward our school employees.” KHOU recently dug up data on reported assaults against school employees in the Houston area’s largest districts.

It showed at least 520 incidents in the 2021-22 school year, which is more than double any of the five previous years. The grand total was nearly 1,200 assaults from 2017-2022, according to TEA discipline reports.

“I’ve certainly experienced angry reactions,” Capo said. “I’ve certainly experienced students throwing desks across the room.” But Capo told us he’s never been struck by a student even while working in an alternative school. He commended the Lamar teacher for not fighting back.

“Which is all the more reason I hope that this teacher is supported, that the principal does what they need to do, that the school district follows the law,” Capo said.

In a letter to Lamar families, the principal said this type of behavior won’t be tolerated and that administrators are looking at ways to prevent future incidents.

Meanwhile, we spoke with the student’s father who did not want to comment.

The teacher declined an interview as well.