Ex-California principal facing 'willful cruelty' charge for shoving a 9-year-old special needs student was hired— then suspended —by another school district, reports say

• A former California principal facing charges for pushing a student got rehired at another school, The Fresno Bee reported.
• Brian Vollhardt resigned from his position as principal at a Fresno elementary school but later got rehired at a high school.

A California principal, who resigned from his post at that school district after he shoved a 9-year-old special needs student, was recently rehired by another district but quickly placed on administrative leave while officials there investigate, according to reports.

Brian Vollhardt stepped down from his position at Wolters Elementary School in Fresno, California, as a result of an incident where he allegedly pushed a special needs student this past June, according to NBC News and The Fresno Bee.

This past Thursday, school officials from Wolters Elementary School held a press conference in which they released the footage of the incident. The video, obtained by CBS47, shows Vollhardt shoving the child to the floor, which prompted an investigation.

The 30-second clip shows the student walking toward Vollhardt before he is shoved to the ground, CBS47 reported.

"How dare you touch somebody else's kid in that manner," said Keshia Thomas, a school district official, said Thursday, per the outlet. "That was blatant assault and abuse."

The district said the student is OK.

"Instead of de-escalating the situation, which is what we'd expect of an educator in our system, the former principal aggressively shoves the student down instead," Fresno Unified School District superintendent Bob Nelson said during a press conference last Thursday, NBC News reported.

Officials announced that Vollhardt is facing willful cruelty to a minor charge, per the outlet.

The Fresno Bee reported that Vollhardt, who was serving as a vice principal at Tranquillity High School, was placed on leave after officials were informed about the altercation on the day of the press conference.

"Golden Plains Unified School District is deeply committed to the safety and well-being of our students. It is the sole intention of the district to comply with active district policies and procedures as well as state law," the district superintendent Martin Macias said in a Sept. 8 statement. "We will be working closely with our legal counsel, as more information is available."

Vollhardt did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on Sunday.