Donald Perkins, who has been charged with injury to the disabled, is accused of pushing a non-verbal 16-year-old male with food in his mouth into a classroom last week.
Court records say the student was able to get up and sit down under his own power following the "unprovoked physical assault," but appeared to start choking shortly thereafter.
Perkins unsuccessfully performed the Heimlich maneuver on the teenager before the 16-year-old was ultimately airlifted to a hospital, according to court records.
That student later died, according to a charging document against Perkins.
ABC13 asked the Harris County District Attorney's Office why Perkins was charged with injury to the disabled as opposed to something like manslaughter.
A spokesperson for the office told us they couldn't comment on the matter, citing a desire to "protect the integrity of the case."
ABC13 asked a criminal law professor at the University of Houston Law Center the same question.
"The punishment range is very high for injury to the disabled," Sandra Guerra Thompson said.
Guerra Thompson, who has no affiliation with this case, said Perkins could face up to 99 years in prison if convicted on this charge.
"The statute is tailored in a way that's clearly directed to people in this line of work," she said of the charge Perkins faces.
"You wouldn't find that there was an intent to cause death," she said of the alleged shove. "And even proving criminal negligence could be a challenge because there was an attempt to resuscitate the child."
That being said, Thompson Guerra said the charge could change as the investigation presumably continues.
Perkins, whose bond was set at $30,000, is scheduled to appear in court on Monday morning.
He's currently on administrative leave with Cy-Fair ISD, according to a district spokesperson.