A high school student is on a five-day suspension after repeatedly punching a pregnant substitute teacher.

The incident happened Monday at Mesa Ridge High School in Widefield. The El Paso County Sheriff's Office released more information about the incident Tuesday.

"We had a male student who was in class, and he did assault a substitute teacher who was not happy apparently with a grade she felt that he deserved, so there was a verbal altercation that turned physical," said EPSO spokesperson Jacqueline Kirby. "There were closed-fisted punches. ... Somebody did go and get the school resource officer. I know that some of the students did try and pull some of the students off of the teacher to try to get him to stop the assault."

The student faces third-degree assault, disorderly conduct, and interference with staff at an educational institution. He'll "have to go through a court process and go before a judge and plead his case just like any other adult offender would have to," Kirby told 11 News.

The school board will make a final decision in the next month about whether or not the teacher should be expelled.

The teacher is expected to make a full recovery.

Kirby said law enforcement will be working closely with the schools to put protocols in place, to hopefully prevent similar incidents in the future.