The child, who has not been named, is accused of tearing items off the walls and throwing furniture at school in the central Georgia city of Milledgeville, according to WMAZ television channel. The police report says the girl knocked over a shelf that injured the headteacher.
The school called police after the Friday tantrum. The report says when an officer tried to calm the child, she resisted and was handcuffed. The girl was charged with simple assault and damage to property.
Police chief Dray Swicord says the department's policy is to handcuff people in certain situations, and "there is no age discrimination on that rule".
The child has been suspended from school until August.