Two nearly identical lawsuits have been filed against the Alamance-Burlington school board and a former Exceptional Children’s teacher at Andrews Elementary School who recently pleaded guilty to assaulting two disabled students.
The former teacher, Dorothy Jessica (“Jessica”) Edwards, 28, white, female, of 185 Granite Mill Drive in Graham, had been charged with four counts of misdemeanor assault on an individual with disabilities in November 2024. She pleaded guilty to all four charges on May 5 of this year.
The attorney for the victims is seeking more than $25,000 in compensatory and punitive damages under each of three alleged claims for relief, including: violations of the victims’ rights, under the state Constitution, to a “safe, appropriate, and free public education” by both defendants; negligence by Edwards; and intentional torts (or deliberate acts known to cause injury or emotional distress) by the former teacher…