Family sues Baltimore County Schools over alleged assault by Overlea High teacher
The family believes the school system failed to provide a safe environment and proper employee training, David A. Muncy, a Maryland-based attorney representing the family, wrote in court documents filed Thursday.
On Nov. 21, 2023, the Overlea High School student, who was 15 at the time, allegedly suffered 'injuries to her body, as well as severe and protracted shock to her nervous system, all of which have caused her, and will continue to cause her, great pain and mental anguish,' according to the court filing.
'This was her favorite teacher, and she just never thought this was going to happen to her,' Muncy said in an interview. 'So she did some counseling and was checked out by her family doctor.'
The teacher was briefly suspended and returned to the classroom, according to Muncy and the family. The family says the school district has offered no transparency or follow-up care.
A spokesperson for Baltimore County schools declined to comment on pending litigation, except to say that 'BCPS followed its processes and thoroughly investigated the report.'
The court documents did not disclose many details of the alleged assault, but Muncy provided some specifics.
'She came up behind her teacher, basically good morning, probably loud, but not anything out of the ordinary, and the teacher just turned around and basically started assaulting her, slapping her, hitting her,' Muncy said. 'We really don't know why. We still don't know why. And from there, she went and reported to the office. They took out a peace order, a protective order against the teacher, which was granted. The State's Attorney's office declined to file charges against her. We don't know why that is either.'
The family also alleges the Board of Education failed to ensure its teachers had the 'proper temperament to safely interact with students' and did not properly monitor the mental health and competency of its teachers, according to the complaint.
'She didn't know what to do,' said the student's mother, whom The Baltimore Sun is not naming to protect her child's privacy. 'She wasn't expecting that something like that could happen to her, especially with someone that she trusts, with a figure that he's a teacher, and you trust them because [they are] educators. So she was in shock for a while.'
The student was moved to a different school after the alleged event, according to her mother.
'She is thriving right now in the new school,' her mother said in the interview. 'She is doing what she likes, which is allied health. When she graduates, she wants to be an OB-GYN. … She is thriving with her peers at school and she is thriving with the teachers.'
Have a news tip? Contact Todd Karpovich at tkarpovich@baltsun.com or on X as @ToddKarpovich.
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