Mary 'Tracy' Morrison
Mary ‘Tracy’ Morrison encouraged students to hurt a 13-year-old, including hitting, choking, and striking him for over 40 minutes, with staff not intervening. Craighead Co. Sheriff's Office

An Arkansas private-school founder encouraged pupils to attack a 13-year-old boy during a nearly 40-minute classroom session, with footage showing the child being choked, slapped, pinched, and punched by classmates.

Mary 'Tracy' Morrison, who founded The Delta Institute for the Developing Brain near Jonesboro, Arkansas, was at the centre of the April 2025 incident. The episode was captured on classroom video obtained by ProPublica through a public-records request.

Morrison pleaded guilty in May 2026 to one count of permitting child abuse and four counts of contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile. She was sentenced to 30 days in county jail, 120 days of ankle monitoring, and 60 months of probation on the child-abuse count.

Video Shows Students Turning on a Classmate

The footage shows Morrison placing the 13-year-old in the centre of a circle of pupils. She asked the children to raise their hands if he had ever been mean to them before encouraging them to identify things they disliked about him. Morrison then struck the boy on the head and neck and told him to keep his arms down.

She subsequently told pupils to 'put your hands on him, however you want'. One student wrapped an arm around the boy's neck and choked him, after which Morrison gave the student a high-five.

Other pupils then took turns hitting, punching, and pinching the boy. Morrison also struck him with a footlong plastic cylinder. The attack lasted roughly 40 minutes, according to ProPublica. Three other employees were present but did not intervene. Morrison later made the boy apologise to his classmates.

The footage shows Morrison leading a classroom session in which students were encouraged to assault a 13-year-old classmate.

Morrison Received Jail and Probation

The incident led to criminal charges against Morrison and three other employees. The Arkansas Judiciary record shows she pleaded guilty on 4 May 2026 to one count of permitting child abuse and four counts of contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile. The court record lists 60 months of probation for the felony and 12-month suspended sentences on each of the four misdemeanour counts.

Her sentence also included 30 days in the Greene County Detention Center and 120 days of ankle monitoring after her release. She was barred from professional work involving children and required to surrender her occupational therapy and related licences.

Morrison was released from jail on 1 June, according to ProPublica. The criminal case followed earlier complaints about her treatment of pupils, including footage showing three boys scrubbing floors and walls while Morrison shouted instructions at them.

Public Funding Returned After Suspension

The case has also raised questions about Arkansas' Education Freedom Account programme, which allows eligible families to use public money for private-school tuition and other educational expenses. ProPublica reported that nearly half of the school's pupils were using EFA funds and that the school had received more than $300,000 (£222,300) through the programme.

After Morrison's arrest, the Arkansas Department of Education suspended EFA payments to the school. The payments resumed two days later after an assistant education commissioner determined that 'appropriate safeguards' had been implemented, according to an email obtained by ProPublica.

The state's 2024-25 EFA annual report separately lists $147,653 (£109,412) in programme expenditure for The Delta Institute. That figure represents the expenditure attributed to the school in the annual report and should not be interpreted as money paid specifically after Morrison's arrest.

Arkansas Voucher Expansion Tests Oversight

The Delta Institute case comes as Arkansas expands its private-school voucher system. The Education Freedom Account programme provides eligible families with public funding for private-school tuition, homeschooling curriculum, tutoring, educational therapies, and other approved expenses.

ProPublica reported that Arkansas had about 100 private schools in 2023 and roughly 220 by 2026, alongside around 100 microschools. The investigation found that private schools generally face less state oversight than public schools. The case therefore raises a broader question about how schools receiving taxpayer money are monitored when concerns about student welfare emerge.

School Continues Under a New Name

The school has since changed its name to North Star Academy, according to ProPublica. Kathrine Lipscomb, an Arkansas-licensed teacher involved in the incident, is now the school's director of education and said Morrison has 'zero involvement' with the school.

However, ProPublica reported that Morrison's family business remains listed as the property owner and that state business records identify her as the registered agent for a private school at the same address. The school remains open and eligible for public funding, making the case a test of the safeguards surrounding Arkansas' growing system of publicly funded private education.

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