Students at a Milwaukee high school reportedly realized something was wrong with their substitute teacher before administrators determined she was not a teacher at all.
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According to WTMJ, 23-year-old Amy Jones is accused of posing as a substitute teacher at Rufus King International High School on September 24 despite having no employment relationship with Milwaukee Public Schools or its substitute staffing provider. Prosecutors say the fake substitute teacher signed in at the school and was allowed into classrooms while multiple teachers were absent.The criminal complaint, as reported by FOX6 Milwaukee, says Jones was a former Rufus King student who had visited the school about a week before the incident. Investigators allege she later told police she learned how to enter the building, walked through security with students, and heard staff discussing the agency used to provide substitute teachers.
According to the complaint, Jones then told the front office she was a substitute and signed herself in. A teacher reportedly helped her prepare classroom materials for roughly the first 20 minutes before leaving her alone with students.
That is when students said the situation changed.
According to the allegations reported by WISN and WTMJ, students told authorities Jones was “using profane language, racial slurs, sexually derogatory statements and organizing students by race and gender in class.”
A 16-year-old student told investigators, “The teacher was cursing and screaming at the students and that she called a student ‘fat boy,’ asked a student if she wanted to be a stripper or a hooker,” according to WISN. The student also said Jones told two white boys, “They were the type of people to start school shootings.”
Students also alleged that Jones asked classmates whether they were gay or virgins. WTMJ reported that multiple students recorded portions of what was happening, and detectives later obtained videos as part of the investigation.
The fake substitute teacher allegedly remained in control of classrooms for two class periods before students reported the behavior and school officials intervened.
The staffing situation that morning appears to have played a major role in how the alleged impersonation succeeded. According to the criminal complaint cited by FOX6, eight teachers were absent, but only seven of the vacancies had been filled. The principal told investigators she believed Jones “got lucky because there happened to be an unfilled position.”
School officials eventually contacted the substitute staffing agency and determined Jones did not work for the company. According to the complaint, staff was also able to identify her as a former Rufus King student.
When detectives interviewed Jones on September 30, investigators said she acknowledged having a “birds and the bees talk” with students. Asked about the appropriateness of the discussion, Jones reportedly responded, “It was not appropriate.”
According to the complaint, Jones said she went to the school “because she was bored,” adding that she “hates kids and she just wanted to (mess) around.”
Milwaukee Public Schools told families that its own investigation remained underway. In a statement reported by WISN, the district said, “In addition to any police actions resulting from this situation, the district is continuing with its own investigation.” The district added, “We will continue to take all appropriate action to ensure that Rufus King International High School remains a safe and welcoming place for our students and staff.”
The incident is unusual, but schools have faced other cases in which people allegedly used false identities or credentials to gain trusted access to students.
In Michigan in 2015, FOX 2 Detroit reported that a 24-year-old woman was arrested after allegedly impersonating her mother, who was the substitute teacher actually assigned to a fifth grade classroom at Riverside Elementary School. Police said the daughter presented her mother’s driver’s license, began class, took attendance, and sent students to physical education before the principal noticed she did not have the required badge. Both the woman and her mother were arrested, according to the station.
More recently, the Associated Press reported in 2026 that a 28-year-old woman was arrested after allegedly posing as a 16-year-old student at Westchester Square Academy in the Bronx for approximately two weeks. School officials discovered the alleged deception after the principal located information about her real identity online. The case prompted a review of enrollment verification procedures.
Those cases involved different alleged motives and conduct, but each exposed the consequences of allowing identity verification to fail inside a school. In Milwaukee, prosecutors allege the breakdown placed an unauthorized adult directly in charge of students.
WTMJ reported Tuesday that Jones now faces one felony count of impersonating a public employee and five felony counts of exposing a child to harmful descriptions. A Milwaukee County court commissioner found probable cause for the case to continue and set a $5,000 signature bond. Jones was also ordered not to contact Rufus King High School or several students identified in the complaint.
Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for October 20. According to WTMJ, the six charges carry a combined maximum potential sentence of 21 years in prison if she is convicted on all counts. The allegations remain unproven unless established in court.
