The largest Cadence Education lawsuit to date ended in a $16 million wrongful death settlement in South Carolina in February 2024, after a five-month-old died at one of the company’s daycares. A second major case is active in Minnesota, where parents of 21 children sued the company in March 2026 over alleged repeated abuse by a teacher at a Plymouth facility. Cadence Education, a national preschool operator, has also faced smaller employment and commercial disputes in federal court.
Who Cadence Education Is
Cadence Education, LLC is a multi-brand early childhood education company headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. It runs more than 300 private preschools across 30 states under names including Cadence Academy Preschool, Creative Kids, and Golden Pond.1PR Newswire. Cadence Education Eclipses 300 School Milestone That footprint matters to the litigation picture: the lawsuits target the corporate parent, not just individual centers.
The $16 Million South Carolina Infant Death Settlement
In June 2021, five-month-old Jonathan Cash Berry was dropped off at the Carolina Kids Child Development Center in Rock Hill, South Carolina, a facility owned by Cadence Education. According to the lawsuit later filed by his parents, Sasha and Robert Berry, a daycare worker placed the infant on his side in a crib, propped against the crib spindles, despite a personalized sign on the crib instructing staff to place him on his back.2Herald Online. Day Care Company to Pay York County Family $16 Million After Death of Infant About 30 minutes later he was found face down and unresponsive. He was airlifted to Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte, placed on life support, and died on June 28, 2021.3Yarborough Applegate. Wrongful Death at Rock Hill Daycare Leads to $16 Million Settlement and Safety Changes
The Berrys filed a wrongful death and corporate negligence lawsuit in 2022. They alleged the worker violated her training, South Carolina Department of Social Services regulations, the facility’s own policies, and the American Academy of Pediatrics’ “Back to Sleep” guidelines.4Yarborough Applegate. Carolina Kids Rock Hill Daycare Infant Death Lawsuit Cadence Education and the daycare denied wrongdoing, calling the death an “isolated, emergency health situation” and noting that the autopsy listed the cause as “undetermined.”2Herald Online. Day Care Company to Pay York County Family $16 Million After Death of Infant The infant’s pediatrician and treating providers testified that he had no life-threatening illness and would not have died but for the unsafe sleep position.3Yarborough Applegate. Wrongful Death at Rock Hill Daycare Leads to $16 Million Settlement and Safety Changes
After two and a half years of litigation, the case settled on the eve of trial for $16 million. Judge Dan Hall approved the agreement in February 2024.2Herald Online. Day Care Company to Pay York County Family $16 Million After Death of Infant The family’s attorneys described it as the largest infant wrongful death settlement in South Carolina history.5WSOC-TV. Day Care Company to Pay York County Family $16 Million After Death of Infant As part of the settlement, Cadence Education agreed to adopt additional safe sleep measures at its South Carolina schools.3Yarborough Applegate. Wrongful Death at Rock Hill Daycare Leads to $16 Million Settlement and Safety Changes No criminal charges were reported in connection with the infant’s death.
The Minnesota Abuse Lawsuit at Lil’ Explorers
In the winter of 2025–2026, cellphone videos surfaced showing a teacher at Lil’ Explorers Child Care Center in Plymouth, Minnesota, acting aggressively toward toddlers. The videos had been secretly recorded by a teaching assistant, identified in reporting as Za’Kiyah Thomas, who worked in a classroom with two- and three-year-olds.6CBS News Minnesota. Video Showing Teachers Aggressive Behavior at Daycare The footage depicted lead teacher Katie Ann Voigt screaming at toddlers, pushing a child into a table, and forcefully grabbing and lifting children in ways that allegedly caused pain.7FOX 9. Parents Lawsuit Lil Explorers Plymouth Child Care Center Thomas had reported Voigt’s behavior to daycare management and to the Minnesota Department of Human Services before recording on her final day of employment.
Criminal Case Against the Teacher
Voigt was criminally charged and in July 2025 pleaded guilty to two counts of fifth-degree misdemeanor malicious punishment of a child.8FOX 9. Former Lil Explorers Teacher Sentenced for Punishment of Toddler She was sentenced on October 3, 2025, to two stayed 90-day sentences, 10 days of community service, two years of probation, mandatory anger awareness training and therapy, and a prohibition on working or volunteering with children or vulnerable adults.9KSTP. Plymouth Day Care Teacher Sentenced to 10 Days Work Release, Probation for Conduct Towards Kids She had resigned from the daycare after the videos became public.
The Civil Complaint
On March 4, 2026, parents representing 21 children filed a civil lawsuit in Hennepin County against Cadence Education and Voigt. The complaint alleges that children were “daily exposed to abusive behavior” and suffered lasting harm, including night terrors, toileting regressions, heightened fear responses, new aggression, and anxiety.7FOX 9. Parents Lawsuit Lil Explorers Plymouth Child Care Center The plaintiffs are seeking $50,000 in damages for each family.
Beyond Voigt’s conduct, the suit alleges that Cadence Education failed to act despite internal warnings: staff reportedly notified management about Voigt’s behavior, yet the company took no disciplinary action.10KARE 11. Parents Sue Day Care, Staff Member Charged With Assault in Plymouth The complaint also cites three 2024 citations at the Plymouth location from the Minnesota Department of Human Services, two of them for disciplinary practices.7FOX 9. Parents Lawsuit Lil Explorers Plymouth Child Care Center
Cadence Education has since transferred the Plymouth location to another provider. In a public statement, the company said it cooperated with authorities, that all employees had passed state background checks at the time of hire, and that the conduct in the videos conflicted with its values.10KARE 11. Parents Sue Day Care, Staff Member Charged With Assault in Plymouth As of March 2026, the lawsuit was active, with attorneys for the families in discovery seeking to determine what corporate officials and managers knew about conditions at the facility.11Hoodline. Plymouth Daycare Horror: Parents of 21 Kids Hit Lil Explorers With Abuse Suit
Other Cadence Education Cases in Court
Two federal employment cases round out the recent litigation picture. In Davis v. Cadence Education, LLC, filed in 2023 in the Eastern District of California, former preschool teacher Jasmine Davis alleges retaliation and a hostile work environment under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act after she reported an incident involving the filming of her son at a Cadence Academy location in October 2019. She claims she was ostracized and eventually resigned, asserting constructive discharge.12Midpage. Davis v. Cadence Education, LLC The court has repeatedly dismissed her claims with leave to amend. Davis filed a third amended complaint in June 2025, Cadence moved to dismiss, and a March 2026 hearing produced no written ruling as of the June 2026 docket update.13PACER Monitor. Davis v. Cadence Education, LLC
Shannon v. Cadence Education, LLC, a Title VII case filed by Latrinna Shannon in the Northern District of Illinois in January 2023, was dismissed with prejudice in August 2023 by stipulation, suggesting the parties reached a resolution.14CourtListener. Shannon v. Cadence Education, LLC
Separately, a commercial landlord called Forty Six Hundred LLC pursued a Massachusetts eviction action against Cadence Education that reached the First Circuit on the question of whether federal courts should abstain from state summary process cases. The First Circuit held they need not abstain and ordered the district court to keep the case.15O’Connor, Maloney & Co. Federal Courts Need Not Abstain From Hearing Eviction Actions That dispute concerns a lease, not child safety.