Kansas City school must pay nearly $1 million to student sexually harassed by teacher

Hogan Preparatory Academy in Kansas City has been ordered to pay nearly $1 million after a jury found a teacher sexually harassed an 11-year-old student.

A Jackson County Court jury has ruled in favor of the former student, identified only by initials in court documents, who says she was harassed and inappropriately touched by former middle school teacher Douglas Bliss. The jury found that the charter school discriminated against the student and that Bliss battered her. They awarded the student $950,000, of which, $350,000 is for punitive damages against Hogan Prep.

“This is a big verdict. And we hope that it helps the school fix what’s broken there going forward,” said Dan Curry, attorney for the family. “I know that my client, who is now 16 years old and in high school, felt validated. Because she basically ran up against people who didn’t believe her over and over again. So she feels a lot of vindication.”

Bliss has not been criminally charged in regard to the case. Hogan Prep has denied the allegations.

“Since 2018 when the alleged incident that prompted this lawsuit is said to have occurred, the entire leadership team and many teachers and staff at HPA have changed. Nevertheless, we are disappointed in the outcome of the trial,” Keith Cutler, attorney for Hogan Prep, said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Hogan Prep has filed two lawsuits, one against the student’s mother, and another against the student’s father figure. In 2018, shortly after their child told them she was harassed and touched by her teacher, they entered Bliss’ classroom and engaged in a physical altercation with him, the school claims. Hogan in court documents claims Bliss sustained a concussion, facial injuries and a bite to his abdomen. Both lawsuits are pending.

The student had Bliss as a teacher in seventh grade during the 2017-2018 school year at Hogan Middle School. The family says the student was on the honor roll and had no disciplinary issues at school. But in March 2018, they claim Bliss began requiring the student to stay after class for “make up work,” when she was alone with the teacher.

During one of the after-class sessions, the student said, Bliss began giving her “strange” looks, and then placed his hand under her skirt and fondled her upper inner thighs and vaginal area. In court documents, the student said she immediately recoiled from shock and told Bliss to “Stop.”

Bliss allegedly responded, “Why, this can just be our little secret.” The child responded, “No,” and hurried out of the classroom, court records say.

The family claims it was generally known by teachers, students and administrators that Bliss repeatedly engaged in inappropriate behavior, such as “hugging and kissing his boyfriend(s) in class before students and in the hallways.” He is also accused of calling “his minor student(s) suggestive sexual names such as ‘Daddy.’”

Curry said evidence presented at trial showed students reported Bliss wearing tight clothing and having noticeable erections in the classroom. He also was accused of inappropriately touching students, such as giving them massages, and creating an overall hostile environment.

The student’s mother claims she reported Bliss’ conduct, but school officials did not take appropriate action.

After the student was allegedly inappropriately touched by Bliss, she claims she was suspended from school for 10 days, according to court documents. The student began to struggle in school, as well as with severe depression and thoughts of suicide.

Court documents say that Hogan Middle informed the family the student would be retained in seventh grade for another year. Then the mother removed her child from the school.

In a statement, Cutler said Hogan Prep is “committed to ensuring a safe and healthy environment for their students, teachers and staff, and is committed to zero tolerance for inappropriate behavior between adults and students.”

Cutler said law enforcement investigated the claims against Bliss in this case and determined there was “insufficient probable cause that an offense occurred.”

“Unfortunately, this evidence was not allowed to be presented to the jury at trial,” he said. “We maintain that the claims are not true, and remain disputed. We are reviewing and evaluating all legal options at this point; no decisions have been made.”

But the family’s attorney, Curry, claimed that testimony at trial showed law enforcement “was not provided all of the facts by school district folks,” including evidence relevant to the investigation.

The verdict comes during a turbulent time for the charter school. Last month, the Missouri Charter Public School Commission placed Hogan Prep on academic probation, threatening to revoke its charter and putting it at risk of closing, over low test scores and its challenges hiring and retaining enough staff.

The commission, which sponsors the school, recommended in a letter last month that Hogan consider either closing one or more of its campuses, relinquishing its charter or allowing a different nonprofit to take over. Hogan operates three campuses: elementary, middle and high school.

A month before being placed on probation, the state commission instructed the charter to close its high school for two weeks due to concerns over security and a lack of staff. School officials say they have since added personnel and improved safety protocols.