Most of us love a good hero story. We root for the underdogs who rise against insurmountable odds, the warriors who fight against evil, and the brave voices who speak bold truth to power in the face of injustice. We imagine ourselves in the hero’s shoes, believing we would act if confronted with wrongdoing. We would do something.
But in every story, the hero is the minority. The villain’s power goes unchecked, fueling the hero’s fight. However, another group exists—larger than the hero’s allies or the villain’s forces combined: the silent masses. They look away, justify inaction, or protect the oppressors instead of the victims.
Even in real-world atrocities, history asks: how did this happen? Where was everyone? The silent masses enable injustice, choosing comfort over action. They are bystanders who fail to intervene, convincing themselves, “It’s not my problem,” or “Someone else will step up.” Their silence isn’t always from malice but often from fear, discomfort, or indifference.
Ironically, this group holds the most power. The moment they act, everything changes. Until then, abuse persists, and oppressors remain unchecked.
This isn’t just a trope—it’s happening in Wake County and across North Carolina. When schools fail to report abuse, when officials choose silence over action, they allow children with disabilities to continue suffering.
A National Crisis
Across the U.S., children with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to abuse. Studies show they are three times more likely to experience maltreatment than their non-disabled peers. The statistics are staggering:
1 in 4 children with disabilities will experience some form of maltreatment before age 18. (Child Welfare Information Gateway)
Nearly 1 in 10 students with disabilities were physically restrained during the 2017-2018 school year, often in harmful ways. (U.S. Department of Education)
Students with disabilities face disproportionate rates of bullying, exclusion, and mistreatment in schools, with abuse often going unnoticed or unreported. (Pacer Center)
This is not an isolated issue—it’s a national crisis made worse by systemic failures. Schools repeatedly fail to protect their most vulnerable students, covering up abuse instead of addressing it.
The Crisis in North Carolina
In North Carolina, the abuse of students with disabilities is a systemic crisis spanning decades. The reported cases are horrifying, but they represent only a fraction of what happens behind closed doors. The state leads the nation in suspending students with disabilities at disproportionate rates, treating them as burdens instead of ensuring their rights and needs are met.
Worse still, there is little accountability. Schools and state officials ignore or suppress cases of abuse, allowing perpetrators to continue harming children. The case of James Rencher in Wake County is just one example, exposing a culture of silence where multiple officials knew about abuse but did nothing.
What Happened in Wake County
In November 2024, James Rencher, a former East Wake High School teacher, was convicted on six counts of assaulting nonverbal students with disabilities. These children depended on him for care, yet he inflicted pain and suffering. The abuse lasted over a year before it was reported—600 days of silence.
Despite multiple reports from staff, Wake County Schools officials allowed Rencher to continue teaching. Instead of protecting children, they protected the abuser, even transferring him to another school.
At least ten Wake County employees knew about the abuse and failed to report it to law enforcement. Under North Carolina law, mandated reporters are required to alert authorities, not just school HR or administrators. Their inaction is a criminal failure.
What Needs to Change
The abuse of students with disabilities is a state and national issue. We must demand systemic change to protect these children.
✅ Classify the abuse of children with disabilities as a hate crime. These children are targeted because of their vulnerabilities. This is a civil rights violation.
✅ Hold school staff criminally accountable for failing to report abuse. Silence is complicity. Those who fail to act should face felony charges.
✅ Create a public registry of convicted abusive educators. No abuser should be able to move to another district and continue harming children.
✅ Ensure law enforcement investigates abuse claims—not just school administrators. Schools have a history of covering up incidents. Reports should go directly to law enforcement.
✅ Launch a full investigation into the NC Department of Public Instruction and local school systems. The public deserves transparency and accountability.
Don't Stay Silent: Take Action
If you remain silent, you are part of the problem. Now that you know, will you still do nothing? The time for silence is over. These children need justice. 📢 Sign the petition at Change.org 📢 Email the Wake County school board (email template below) 📢 Contact the Attorney General (form submission template below) 📢 Share this blog and spread awareness.
Email the Wake County School Board
Subject: Demand Immediate Action on School Abuse Cases To: jheagarty@wcpss.net; ccaulfield@wcpss.net; cgordon2@wcpss.net; wng@wcpss.net; trice@wcpss.net; ledmonds2@wcpss.net; shershey@wcpss.net; lmahaffey@wcpss.net; tjswanson@wcpss.net
Dear Wake County School Board Members,
I am writing to demand accountability for the failure to protect students with disabilities in Wake County Schools. In November 2024, former East Wake High School teacher James Rencher was convicted on six counts of assaulting nonverbal students. Despite multiple witness reports, school officials knowingly allowed Rencher to continue teaching and abusing students for over a year.
At least ten high-ranking employees failed to report the abuse to law enforcement, violating their duty as mandated reporters. These individuals must be held accountable and removed from their positions immediately:
Superintendent Robert Taylor
East Wake Principal Stacey Alston
Assistant Superintendent Mark Savage
Assistant Superintendent Anthony Muttillo
Senior Administrator Perry Aaron
Assistant Principal Katonia Ford
District Administrator Peter Vierno
Others identified in WRAL's investigation
This district has shown no intention of taking meaningful action. The abuse was only reported to authorities after WRAL’s investigative journalism brought it to light—600 days after the first reports. Meanwhile, a principal involved in covering up the abuse was reassigned to a central office position with a six-figure salary.
How many other children are currently suffering abuse that staff know about but refuse to report?
I urge you to take immediate action to remove these individuals from their positions. Our community will not tolerate the continued failure to protect our most vulnerable students.
Contact the N.C. Attorney General
Form Submission Link: https://ncdoj.gov/contact-doj/
Subject: Urgent Action Needed to Address Abuse of Students with Disabilities in North Carolina Schools
I am writing to bring urgent attention to the systemic abuse of students with disabilities in North Carolina’s public schools and to call for immediate action to hold those responsible accountable. The recent and historical cases of abuse—many of which have been covered up or ignored—demonstrate a disturbing pattern of neglect and misconduct that can no longer be tolerated.
While your office has advocated for the constitutional right of all students to receive a sound, basic education, that right is being denied to students with disabilities who are subjected to physical and emotional abuse by those entrusted with their care. This is not just a failure of individual schools—it is a statewide crisis that demands meaningful reform and accountability.
There is an active Change.org petition demanding justice for a case in Wake County, where 10 district employees knowingly failed to report child abuse by a teacher for over 18 months. Despite their inaction, not a single one has been charged, and they continue to work within the school system.
How can the public trust that these individuals are not shielding other abusers right now? Their silence and inaction enabled the abuse of a vulnerable child, and yet there have been no consequences. This is unacceptable.
We demand immediate action on this petition, including criminal charges for those who covered up the abuse. But this is not just about one case—this is a systemic failure, and the following reforms are necessary to ensure children with disabilities are truly protected.
We are asking the North Carolina Department of Justice to take the following actions:
Classify the abuse of children with disabilities as a hate crime. These students are targeted because of their disabilities, making this not just an issue of misconduct but one of discrimination and civil rights violations. The state must acknowledge and address this as a hate crime to ensure stronger protections and harsher penalties for perpetrators.
Enforce stricter penalties for school staff who fail to report abuse. Too often, school administrators treat reports of abuse as human resources issues rather than crimes. Employees who fail to report abuse or attempt to cover it up must be held accountable, including felony charges for obstruction of justice and failure to report child abuse.
Create a public registry of convicted abusive educators. Teachers and staff who are convicted of abusing students with disabilities should not be allowed to move to another school or district and continue working with children. A statewide database must be established to prevent these individuals from continuing to harm students elsewhere.
Expand state outreach on reporting procedures and strengthen partnerships between schools, parents, and law enforcement. Parents need to know how to report educators when they suspect abuse, yet many find their concerns dismissed or buried by school administrators. The state must provide direct numbers for reporting abuse and ensure that law enforcement, rather than school officials alone, are involved in investigating allegations.
Launch a full investigation into DPI and North Carolina school systems regarding the abuse of students with disabilities. This investigation must include an analysis of emails and complaints sent to DPI and school districts that were ignored or not acted upon. Those found guilty of protecting abusers or obstructing investigations should be held fully accountable. Systemic failures that allow abuse to continue unchecked must be exposed and addressed.
The cases that have come to public attention are only a fraction of what is happening behind closed doors. Below is a list of reported cases in North Carolina, spanning nearly a decade, that illustrate the severity of this crisis. These cases are not isolated incidents—they reveal a pattern of negligence, cover-ups, and failures to protect our most vulnerable students.
Addendum: Documented Cases of Abuse Against Students with Disabilities in North Carolina Schools
1. Durham – November 2024 School Employees Indicted for Child Abuse. Three employees at Research Triangle Charter Academy were indicted following the abuse of a student with a disability. One employee faced felony child abuse charges, aggravated assault on an individual with a disability, misdemeanor child abuse, and assault on a child under 12. Two others were charged with felony obstruction of justice and failure to report child abuse.
Read more
2. Wendell (Wake County) – 2024 Special Programs Teacher Charged with Child Abuse. Lori Miller Holland, a special programs teacher at Carver Elementary School, was charged with misdemeanor child abuse and assault after allegedly dragging a student with disabilities down a hallway.
Read more
3. Alamance County – 2024 Teacher Accused of Assaulting Students with Disabilities. Jessica Edwards, a teacher at Andrews Elementary School, was charged with four counts of assault on individuals with disabilities including pinching, biting, and kicking students as well as shoving one to the ground and causing a head injury. Two of the students were five and six years old. Read more
4. Wake County – 2024 Teacher Guilty on Six Counts of Assaulting Students with Disabilities. James Rencher, a teacher in Wake County schools, dragged, choked, and pushed students under his care at two separate schools. More than ten Wake County district personnel were aware of the abuse and hid it for about 18 months. The abuse was only reported when the media began to investigate. Read more
5. Cabarrus County – 2024 Teacher Arrested for Assaulting Student with Autism. A teacher was arrested for assaulting a student with autism by sitting on him, forcefully restraining him in a chair, choking him, and leaving more than 15 bruises on his body. Read more
6. Wake County – 2024 Legal Aid Prompts State Investigation into Isolation Practices. Legal Aid of North Carolina filed a complaint leading to a state investigation into the Wake County Public School System's treatment of students with disabilities. The complaint highlighted that students with emotional disabilities were frequently confined to a “behavior stabilization” room, isolated from educational opportunities and peer interaction.
Read more
7. Wake County – 2023 School System Ordered to Increase Transparency After Settlement. Wake County school staff restrained a fourth grader with speech and learning disabilities inside a cafeteria and moments later forced the child into a closet and barricaded them there by the weight of school staff for 14 minutes. The child would later be placed in two dozen “timeouts” at the school. Following a lawsuit regarding the restraint and seclusion of a student with disabilities, Wake County schools were ordered to be more transparent in their practices. Read more
8. North Carolina – 2023 State Leads Nation in Suspending Students with Disabilities. Investigations revealed that North Carolina suspends and expels students with disabilities at a higher rate per capita than any other state, highlighting systemic issues in handling disciplinary actions involving these students.
Read more
9. Wake County – 2020 Family Reaches Settlement After Child's Abuse. A family reached a $450,000 settlement after their child, a student with disabilities, was physically restrained and secluded by a teacher, leading to significant trauma. The special education teacher forced students into a storage room and began to improperly restrain, isolate, and use aversive measures on them. Staff who reported the teacher’s abuse were disciplined by the principal.
10. Wake County – 2019 Settlement to Improve Services for Students with Disabilities. A case was filed on behalf of seven students with disabilities whose rights were violated by Wake County schools alleging the district suspended students without holding the legally required manifestation determination review meetings, failed to timely provide students with transportation to alternative placements, held IEP meetings without the proper team members present, failed to provide educational services after the 11th cumulative day of suspension, as required by law, and placed students in segregated settings without appropriate behavioral interventions in place that may keep them in less-restrictive environments. Read more
11. Wake County – 2008 Lawsuit Filed Over Abuse of Students with Disabilities. Disability Rights North Carolina filed a lawsuit against Wake County Schools after students with disabilities were reportedly placed in handcuffs, physically restrained, and left with bruises. Read more
These cases highlight a persistent and troubling pattern of abuse and neglect toward students with disabilities within North Carolina's education system. Immediate and comprehensive action is essential to protect these vulnerable students and prevent future incidents.
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