Teacher in student sex case says teen's grades improved

SALT LAKE CITY --A former high school English teacher hasfiled a handwritten response to a lawsuit over her alleged sexual contact with underage students.

Brianne Altice says in the document that she never meant any harm and encouraged the teenage boy to continue his education. She denies an allegation that she was fired from a previous job for having inappropriate relationships with minors.

The 36-year-old Altice pleaded guilty to sexual abuse charges stemming from allegations that she had sex with three students ages 16 and 17 in 2013.

In the federal court filing, the former teacher wrote that a teen whose parents are suing improved his grades during the year she allegedly had a relationship with him.

"Prior to the 2012-2013 school year, (the victim's) attendance and school behavior was a problem causing low grades and suspensions from school," Altice wrote on on loose leaf paper, because she says she cannot afford an attorney. "(The victim's) attendance, grades, and behavior improved during his 2012-2013 school year, allowing him to meet his goal to graduate a semester early."

She says she never heard about what the plaintiffs call a running joke among students who asked: "Who is Ms. Altice sleeping with now?"

The teen's parents are suing Altice and Davis County School District, claiming that school officials failed to act on suspicions that Altice was behaving inappropriately.