Teacher Calls His Suspension 'Appropriate' After Students Took Out His Braids in Viral TikTok: 'I Made a Mistake'

A Maryland school teacher who was under investigation after sharing a viral video of students taking out his braided hairstyle revealed in a social media update that he was ultimately suspended for five days,

As previously reported, Marquise White of the Maya Angelou French Immersion School in Hillcrest Heights, Maryland, shared a TikTok livestream on May 5 in which a few students removed his braids.

The video led to an investigation, during which a Prince George’s County School District spokesperson told PEOPLE that White had been "reassigned out of the classroom."

White has since revealed in a 7-minute-long TikTok posted on July 6 that he has been suspended, which CBS affiliate WUSA reported he found to be an "appropriate" punishment.

“At the end of the day, I did break a policy and I do take accountability for that,” White told the local news outlet in an interview.

In his July 6 TikTok clip to his more than 780,000 followers, White said, "I made a mistake...Despite having the parents' approval to have their students featured in my social media videos, the county still is kind of against putting students on social media, which is understandable."

"For that reason, I'm being placed on a 5-day suspension without pay. But I'm not fired. I was never fired. The county came out and said he was reassigned, I was just reassigned to my house. They had to investigate the things people were saying about me," White said, adding that some people on social media made "baseless" claims about him in response to the clip.

The Prince George’s County School District told PEOPLE in a statement on Thursday, July 11, that "the investigation is complete and the teacher remains a PGCPS [Prince George's County Public Schools] employee."

Speaking to WUSA, the district added that it could not comment on confidential personnel matters.

When reached for comment, White told PEOPLE, "Throughout this whole ordeal I had the support of my entire school community. Even the parents of the students in the viral video supported me and still do to this day."

"I am grateful for my school and supporters all over the world, as these individuals saw that video for what it was. A wholesome moment between an educator that has created a safe and supportive space for his scholars, and the students that have built a strong trusting rapport with their teacher," he added.

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While White shared in his new video that he was initially "really bothered" at the length of time it took for the decision to be made, he thanked the county for "taking their time and ensuring that I wasn't an actual weirdo" before he was "allowed back into the classroom."

"People were calling me everything under the sun. Making baseless claims and allegations and accusations against me," he said. "... After a long, extensive and arduous investigation, they didn't find anything. Let me repeat that, they never found anything."

As previously noted, White's video prompted viewers to both defend and criticize his actions as an instructor. The district’s code of conduct reads that faculty shouldn’t record students’ faces and voices unless they are teaching a performing arts or career technology education class, and that faculty “must respect students’ personal boundaries by maintaining proper space and demonstrate appropriate behaviors.” 

In his TikTok update, White said he would be "back at the school in August, doing what I do best. Making learning fun and impacting the lives of countless students."