In a story Lower Bucks Source was first to cover, a former special education teacher in the Bristol Borough School District was found guilty of mistretreating a 7-year-old student with special needs at Snyder-Girotti Elementary School last year.
Stephanie Kleinfelder, 26, of Levittown was found guilty by Magisterial District Judge Terrance Hughes of a summary charge of harassment involving physical contact. A second harassment charge was withdrawn at the Tuesday hearing..
Judge Hughes ordered Kleinfelder to pay a $150 fine.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney David O’Beirne, the Office’s Safe Schools Advocate.
The conviction stems from a December 2025 incident inside a classroom at Snyder-Girotti Elementary School.
According to Bucks County authorities, testimony presented at the hearing showed Kleinfelder was conducting testing with the student when the child became agitated and attempted to strike her. In response, Kleinfelder grabbed the child’s wrist and forced his hand to strike his own face twice while yelling at him “How do you like that?”
Two classroom aides testified that Kleinfelder’s actions violated standard crisis prevention and de-escalation protocol, said a spokesperson for the Bucks County District Attorney’s office.
This news organization was contacted by multiple confidential sources two days after the alleged December 5th harassment incident. School district officials at that time declined to comment.
Authorities confirmed the existence of an investigation involving Kleinfelder shortly after the incident was reported to officials. Kleinfelder was placed on administrative leave the day of the incident by the school district.
Kleinfelder was hired by the school district in August of 2025 following the resignation of a master level educator who had been in the same role for one academic year.. Her resignation became official after a March School Board meeting.
Credit: Lower Bucks Hospital
“This Office will fight to keep our schools safe for children, especially our most vulnerable students,” said District Attorney Joe Khan. “This trial was legally and emotionally challenging, which is why we created the position of Safe Schools Advocate to prosecute cases like these. We commend David and our partners in the Bristol Borough Police Department for taking on this fight to make clear that we will not tolerate actions by school employees that cross the line into criminal conduct.”
The child who was harassed transferred out of the district at last check and is doing well, according to multiple sources.
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