Community Education
Peninsula School District to pay $23.2 million to settle sex assault negligence suits
Peninsula School District has agreed to pay $23.2 million to the families of students who sued the district after a former teacher was charged with sexually assaulting them.
A Pierce County Superior Court jury found Jordan Roy Henderson, 36, a former teacher at Evergreen Elementary School, guilty of 12 counts of first-degree child molestation on Jan. 5. The judge in the case imposed the maximum sentence, a minimum of 66 years in prison.
“This $23.2 million settlement is about more than money. It means these girls were heard, believed and given justice,” said Kevin Hastings, attorney for the plaintiffs.
Michael Farmer, PSD’s chief of schools, said the desire to spare students from testifying again in the civil trial played a role in the decision to settle.
Jordan Roy Henderson
Background on suits
Four female students reported in 2024 that Henderson sexually assaulted them on multiple occasions between 2022 and 2024. The students and their families sued the district in 2024 in Pierce County Superior Court, claiming the district failed to stop Henderson’s predatory behavior despite red flags well before his arrest. The mother of a fifth student later joined the suit. The trial was to begin in August.
On May 14, the mothers of all five girls filed a federal civil rights claim in U.S. District Court of Western Washington, naming the district and two of the school’s top administrators as defendants.
Settlement reached
Pierce County Superior Court records indicate the district and families settled out of court on Aug. 3.
Hastings, with Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala PLLC, said the parties resolved the case for $23.2 million. A case dismissal is set for Nov. 1 in Pierce County Superior Court.
“These girls trusted the Peninsula School District to keep them safe. That trust was broken, and they will carry the harm for the rest of their lives,” Hastings said.
Holding district accountable
The federal suit claimed the principal and dean at the time fielded multiple reports that Henderson’s behavior with young girls, including some of the plaintiffs, crossed the line into sexual assault.
“Those warnings were swept under the rug,” Hastings said. “This $23.2 million settlement is about more than money. It means these girls were heard, believed, and given justice. They bravely faced Henderson at his criminal trial, and then they made the district answer for harm it could have stopped. Schools must keep kids safe from predators, and we hope this case helps make sure it never happens again.”
Insurance to pay
Farmer, in a statement emailed to Gig Harbor Now on Wednesday, confirmed that the district had “reached an agreement to resolve the litigation around the conduct of a former employee, Jordan Henderson, through a settlement funded entirely by our insurers.”
In other words, the $23.2 million does not come directly out of the district’s budget. The Washington Schools Risk Management Pool covers it.
The WSRMP, in its 2024-25 annual report notes Sexual Abuse & Molestation incidents within member districts, along with climate-related losses and market pressures, among the “headwinds” affecting insurance providers. The risk pool held a symposium for members to provide education on the impact of SAM claims.
“Through legislative advocacy, proactive risk management, and ongoing member engagement, WSRMP continues to strengthen district capacity to prevent and respond to SAM, ensuring safer environments for students and staff,” the report says.
WSRMP members saw a sharp increase in premiums heading into the 2026-27 school year, according to CFO Ashley Murphy during a budget presentation earlier this year.
Hoping for closure
Farmer said that the district took into account the potential impact of a second jury trial on the students as it entered into the settlement agreement.
“While Washington’s legal landscape presents significant financial uncertainty for public entities, our decision was also guided by a desire to protect those who were harmed,” Farmer said. “By settling this matter, these individuals were spared the emotional burden of a public trial and the necessity of recounting their experiences through testimony. It is our sincere hope that the survivors and their families feel a sense of closure as they continue on their path toward healing.”