Orange County School District faces lawsuit involving former teacher

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The Orange County School District is facing a new lawsuit after a teacher was arrested on suspicion of sending inappropriate messages to students.

The two students who were 13 years old at the time, attend Lake Nona Middle School. The students told police that Scott Peters, who was a teacher at the middle school, sent a video of himself smoking marijuana and Facetimed while he was in the shower.

"Our goal is to get to the bottom of this, to find out what actually happened, to make sure that this doesn't happen again, as well as to protect the financial interests of our clients," attorney William McBride told Channel 9's Michael Lopardi.

McBride is representing the two students' parents, who are both listed as "Father Doe" in the filing.

The lawsuit alleges the school district was negligent by keeping the 46-year-old teacher on the job. Peters was demoted from assistant principal at Dr. Phillips Elementary School in 2015 following accusations that he sent a vulgar text message about female colleagues. The students came forward in December of 2016. Peters was arrested in June.

“When we send our children to school, we want to make sure they're protected,” McBride said. “Our clients need counseling, and we want to make sure they get the financial compensation they need, because they were harmed in the process.”

A spokesperson for the school district declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Peters was not renewed and no longer works for the district.

Peters is out on bail and faces charges charges of transmission of materials harmful to a minor and tampering with evidence for allegedly wiping his cellphone.

Peters entered a plea of not guilty just last week.

He is not currently named in the lawsuit, but McBride said that will likely change as the criminal case progresses.

Cox Media Group