Three Blount County families are taking their school district to federal court, alleging that their children with disabilities were physically and sexually abused in a special education classroom at Union Grove Middle School between roughly 2018 and 2020. The lawsuit, filed Monday, claims district officials concealed what was happening and that the alleged misconduct only came to light during a routine human resources audit in 2025. The parents are asking for compensatory and punitive damages and have requested a jury trial.
What the suit alleges
The case centers on teacher Kathryn "Katie" Goins, who was assigned to the school’s Comprehensive Development Classroom. According to the federal complaint filed in U.S. District Court, parents allege a pattern of sexualized behavior, unauthorized one-on-one bathroom contact, and inappropriate touching of students’ genitalia. The filing describes incidents in which Goins allegedly tossed her hair to provoke a male student, touched a student’s penis while assisting him in the restroom, and directed classroom assistants to change that student "more than 50 times" after he "finished." The federal complaint, posted on Scribd, details the timeline, names the alleged victims, and spells out the civil claims.
Alleged cover-up and board ties
The lawsuit accuses Blount County Schools administrators of quietly transferring Goins to another campus instead of firing her, and argues those personnel moves were influenced by political connections. The case names her father, former Blount County Board of Education member Fred Goins, as a defendant. According to the complaint and earlier local reporting, families say they were never notified about the allegations and only learned of the investigative file after the 2025 HR audit. Director Justin Ridge later publicly pressed for disciplinary action; as reported when Ridge urged the district to move to terminate the teacher, his recommendation came amid growing fallout over how the case had been handled.
Investigations and responses
Multiple state agencies have been reported as involved in probing the allegations, including the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Tennessee Department of Children's Services. Local prosecutors said they brought in outside investigators in an effort to restore public confidence in the process. WVLT reported that the Blount County sheriff and district attorney asked the TBI to step in after concerns surfaced in 2025 about leaks and public distrust.
Legal stakes
The parents filed their case in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, Knoxville Division, docketed as Case No. 3:26-cv-00182 and filed on April 16, 2026. They assert federal civil rights claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, along with state tort claims. According to the filing on Scribd, the plaintiffs are seeking compensatory and punitive damages and argue that Blount County and its officials are liable under Tennessee law for failing to protect students placed in the district’s specialized classroom.
WVLT reported that it contacted the Blount County District Attorney’s Office and Blount County Schools for comment, but neither had issued a public statement at the time of its story. Local disability advocacy groups say the lawsuit highlights long-running concerns about oversight, transparency, and the safety of nonverbal or severely disabled students in specialized school programs.
