HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — Henry County school administrators are fighting to dismiss a $3 million lawsuit against them.
This is after the mother of a middle school student who was allegedly stabbed at least 14 times during a fight in Henry County sued the school's administrators last year.
The mother, Ashley Wilson, said her daughter was attacked at Ola Middle School and that administrators knowingly ignored threats that could have prevented the incident.
"They (the school) didn't do the most important job they were supposed to do, which is to protect our children," Wilson said during an interview back in November. "They didn't do it. So, they failed miserably."
Incident timeline
Ashley Wilson sent her daughter to school in March 2023, thinking it was any other day.
But it wasn't.
She got a call later about which hospital she wanted her child to go to. When she got there and the ambulance doors opened, she said she was in shock at her daughter's condition. She would have fallen to the ground if it weren't for the support of other family members, she recalled.
"Her blonde hair was no longer blonde. It was red," Wilson said. "The clothes she went to school with that day were not on her. She was bandaged up. You couldn't see really any part of her face at all. She was just covered in blood everywhere."
According to the original complaint, a day before the incident, a student made threats that they had a knife and intended to use it.
Wilson's daughter was with friends walking to gym class when the student who'd made threats before approached her and started an argument, documents read. According to the complaint, teachers were nearby and did not stop the alleged harassment. Wilson said her daughter told the other student to leave her alone and tried to walk away several times.
When her daughter entered the gym, she was stabbed at least 14 times "across her body, including her face and chest," according to the lawsuit.
"We cannot stress enough that weapons or dangerous objects of any kind are never allowed on our campuses, and any activity of this nature will result in an immediate and appropriate response," the district spokesperson said in March 2023.
Where the case stands now
In a December court filing, the administrators argued the case should be dismissed because, under the law, "school administrators are entitled to official immunity for their actions in supervising students under their care."
The motion to dismiss the lawsuit also argued that the disciplinary action in the 2022-2023 Student and Parent Handbook is discretionary on the part of school employees -- that if anything, any reports involving a weapon should have been dealt with the school resource officer, who is not part of the district.
The court filing wrote that the district is heartbroken for the student but that the lawsuit is not directed against the perpetrator but instead seeks damages from the school's administrative team.
"Ultimately, this case is not on any different legal footing than other cases where students were tragically hurt at school," lawyers for the school's administrative team wrote.
This week, Ashley Wilson's representation filed a response disputing the administration's perspective.
They're arguing that the school handbook does have clear directives -- creating must-do duties in specified situations. Therefore, no discretion can exist and there is no immunity.
"Despite the clear-cut directions set forth in the Handbook, the defendants in this case did nothing when they received multiple reports that a student was bullying others and carrying a weapon on campus," the filing wrote.
The purpose of the lawsuit is to get justice for the young woman and to also hold administrators accountable for youth violence that can happen inside schools, the attorney representing the family, Andrew Gould, said.
"Our goal is that this sends a message across the state and any other school district that this type of behavior will not be tolerated," Gould said. "That you, as an administrator, do not have the choice when you know that a student on campus has a dangerous weapon. You don't have a choice. You don't have the discretion on whether or not to investigate. You must investigate."
There will be a hearing on Feb. 26 to discuss both sides and whether the case should be dismissed. The Henry County School District has previously stated it does not comment on ongoing litigation.