A former Best Academy student has filed a civil lawsuit this week alleging that a teacher at the North Minneapolis charter school sexually assaulted him and secretly recorded the abuse while he was enrolled there. The complaint names Harvest Best Academy, commonly known as Best Academy, and Hospitality House Youth Development as defendants.
According to FOX 9 Minneapolis‑St. Paul, the lawsuit claims the assaults and recordings happened during the period the plaintiff attended the school and that the teacher videotaped the abuse. FOX 9 aired a short video piece and published a summary of the filing on June 25.
What the complaint alleges
Based on the publicly available summaries, the civil complaint accuses a former teacher of sexually abusing and recording at least one student while the child was a Best Academy student. The filing does not publicly identify the plaintiff but lists both the charter school and Hospitality House Youth Development as defendants.
Hospitality House's role
Hospitality House Youth Development is a long‑running North Minneapolis nonprofit that operates after‑school learning, summer programs and youth athletics in partnership with neighborhood schools. Its public profile highlights year‑round academic support and mentorship programs for K‑12 students in the area, according to GiveMN.
Local backlash and leadership changes
Harvest Best Academy and the network that manages it have already been under a cloud of scrutiny and legal trouble in recent years. In March 2025 the school's board voted to remove its founder amid lawsuits and complaints from parents. Sahan Journal reported on that board decision and the selection of an interim executive director.
How this ties to earlier cases
The new lawsuit arrives against the backdrop of other high‑profile cases involving the same network. In February 2025 the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that public schools can, in certain situations, be held liable for hiring decisions after a case involving teacher Aaron Hjermstad, a decision that has reopened negligent‑hiring claims against the network, as explained by the Star Tribune.
Separately, another former Best Academy teacher, Abdul J. Wright, was convicted last year of sexually abusing a student, adding to the mounting pressure on the school and its partners. MPR News covered Wright's trial and guilty verdict.
Legal implications
Legal analysts say the Minnesota Supreme Court's narrowing of discretionary‑function immunity means plaintiffs can now press negligent‑hiring and negligent‑supervision claims when a school's conduct is viewed as operational rather than policy‑level. The court's full opinion sets out the test judges will apply to decide when hiring choices lose that immunity and can move forward as tort claims (Minnesota Supreme Court).
What happens next
The civil complaint was filed this week and will now move into the court system. If the case survives early motions to dismiss, the parties could enter discovery, which may require the release of records and testimony about who knew what, and when. We will continue to monitor public filings and any statements from the parties as the litigation progresses.
