An Orange County jury is set to decide in April whether Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools leaders failed to act on reports that kindergarten students at Frank Porter Graham Bilingüe Elementary were sexually assaulted in 2019. The civil case, brought by a parent on behalf of her child, will scrutinize whether school staff followed required reporting rules and safety protocols when the first disclosures surfaced.
What the lawsuit says
The complaint, filed in local court after federal claims were thrown out, alleges a male kindergarten classmate repeatedly touched the plaintiff’s daughter and that a male substitute teacher later violently abused a different student, according to reporting by The News & Observer. The News & Observer reports that the mother, Rebecca Fox, has chosen to speak publicly about the case, while the children involved remain anonymous in court filings.
Federal ruling and the state suit
In March 2025 a federal judge granted summary judgment on the family’s Title IX and constitutional claims, concluding that a reasonable jury could not find the district was deliberately indifferent, according to the memorandum opinion filed on Justia. The judge dismissed the federal claims and left related state-law claims to continue in Orange County court.
District response
The school system has denied that a substitute teacher abused students and says it investigated the complaints, met with families and put safety measures in place, according to statements the district provided to reporters. District spokesman Andy Jenks said the system “looks forward to presenting our evidence to the court, where a more complete factual record can be developed,” as reported by The News & Observer.
What plaintiffs are seeking
The plaintiffs are seeking actual and punitive damages that they say cover medical treatment, therapy and several years of private-school tuition, according to the docket on Justia and related news coverage. The family argues those costs flow directly from the incidents they reported in 2019 and the district’s response.
Legal stakes and next steps
Because the federal court disposed of the Title IX and § 1983 claims, the upcoming trial will turn on state-law negligence and related theories in Orange County Superior Court. If jurors decide the district or individual staff members were negligent under state law, the verdict could open the door to compensatory and punitive awards. If they do not, the case is likely to end without additional liability for the district.
The April jury session is expected to pit sharply different narratives against one another, with parents, district officials, teachers and therapists all poised to testify about what happened and how school leaders responded when the allegations first came to light.
Community reaction
The case has stirred anxiety and anger among some Chapel Hill-Carrboro parents, who are already watching the district wrestle with wider decisions about school closures and program moves. Local opinion pieces and message-board threads reflect frustration from families who say they want clearer reporting procedures and more visible safeguards for young students. Others in the community caution that the courts need to finish their work before anyone decides exactly who failed whom and how.
