The parent said she was 'very pleased' with the teacher. He was abusing her child
KIPP DC and Capital City have dodged liability for a convicted teacher's years of student abuse after a court ruled their response not grossly negligent.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted summary judgment to both charter schools on October 6, 2026 - despite the teacher having pleaded guilty to sex abuse of a minor in Maryland and first-degree child sex abuse in DC in 2017.
The former student sued in 2021, alleging the schools failed to investigate, report, or stop the abuse.
The facts read like a case study in missed signals. The teacher began grooming the student during seventh grade at KIPP DC in 2003. By eighth grade, the abuse was sexual. He gave her rides home, took her to the movies one-on-one, and after leaving KIPP DC, continued the abuse while teaching at Capital City.
When administrators learned about the movie outing, they called the student's mother. She confirmed she had authorized it and, per deposition testimony, said she was "very pleased" with how helpful the teacher had been. The school told the teacher one-on-one outings "should not be happening." It did not dig deeper.
The court called that response imperfect. But it held the school's actions did not cross into the "wanton, willful and reckless disregard" required for gross negligence under DC law. Background checks had been clean. Mandatory reporting policies were in place. Annual training had...
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