A Tifton special education teacher surrendered to authorities earlier this month after being accused of assaulting students at Eighth Street Middle School, police said. Dixie Hardy, 55, faces felony and misdemeanor charges following a five-day investigation sparked by a school board complaint

A Tifton special education teacher surrendered to authorities earlier this month after being accused of assaulting students at Eighth Street Middle School, police said. Dixie Hardy, 55, faces felony and misdemeanor charges following a five-day investigation sparked by a school board complaint

What We Know: The Tift County School Board alerted police May 9 about allegations Hardy physically harmed students at the school. Hardy turned herself in May 15 and was charged with first-degree cruelty to children and simple battery. She remains jailed at the Tift County Sheriff’s Office awaiting arraignment. Georgia law defines first-degree child cruelty as maliciously causing “excessive physical or mental pain” – a felony punishable by 5-20 years in prison.

What We Don’t Know: Police have not disclosed how many students were allegedly harmed or specifics about the reported assaults.

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Anyone with information can anonymously contact Tifton PD via the tip411 system by texting TIFTONPD (space) + message to 847411 or using the department’s mobile app.

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A Tifton special education teacher surrendered to authorities earlier this month after being accused of assaulting students at Eighth Street Middle School, police said. Dixie Hardy, 55, faces felony and misdemeanor charges following a five-day investigation sparked by a school board complaint
B.T. Clark
Publisher at 

B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.