Ildiko Lewis, a foreign language teacher at Calabasas High School, was arrested on a misdemeanor battery charge Jan. 10 after reportedly slapping a female student during class.

Detective J.T. Manwell of the Lost Hills Sheriff's Station said Lewis, 69, claims to have seen a student standing over the teacher’s grade book making changes.

“She went over to the student, confronted her and slapped her one time,” Manwell said. “She just reacted, and kind of lost it.”

The student’s name was not released.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed a misdemeanor “battery on a school grounds” charge against Lewis, which Manwell called unusual. He said the decision to file the charge was prompted by the teacher's initial lack of remorse at the time of the incident. But he said she later seemed apologetic.

Students who witnessed the assault spoke to The Acorn Newspapers on the condition of anonymity.

“She hit our friend the week before Christmas vacation,” one student said. “The student didn’t do a thing. Other kids were fooling around, but there was no way anyone was doing anything that they should be hit in the face.”

Another student said the teacher simply “exploded.”

Dan Stepenosky, assistant superintendent of personnel for the Las Virgenes Unified School District, said the teacher was placed on leave after being arrested.

The Las Virgenes Educators Association, the teachers' union, reportedly is backing Lewis and wants the school district to allow her to return to the classroom.

Lewis is scheduled to appear in Malibu court on Feb. 15.