A former Kansas high school art teacher accused of cultivating an inappropriate relationship with a student over several years has been ordered to stand trial.
According to Fox News, Nicole Hernandez, 30 — also known as Nikki Baird — appeared in court Tuesday, where a judge ruled she will face four felony counts of unlawful sexual relations with a student.
The case centers on allegations that date back to the student’s middle school years. An affidavit reviewed by the Wichita Eagle says the student told investigators that Baird began building a close bond with him early on, gradually separating him from peers and positioning herself as a trusted adult.
“He described how she befriended him, then isolated him from others,” the affidavit stated.
Both later moved on to Wichita North High School, where the student said the relationship intensified throughout his sophomore, junior, and senior years.
Investigators say it began with small signs of overstepping boundaries — such as unnecessary physical closeness or personal conversations — and evolved into private communication about Baird’s personal life.
According to the affidavit, Baird sent the student notes expressing deep emotional attachment, including statements about hoping for a future with him.
The communications concerned the student enough that he eventually saved some of them “knowing he could use them as evidence of what she did,” the document said.
Authorities became aware of the situation after a Wichita police detective saw an Instagram post suggesting Baird had engaged in inappropriate behavior with a former Wichita school district student. That prompted an investigation, followed by interviews with the former student, who is now an adult.
The affidavit says the student later recognized the pattern of behavior for what it was: manipulation.
He eventually cut ties and informed his family, who turned over handwritten notes and other materials to law enforcement.
Baird was arrested in May. With the judge’s ruling this week, the case will proceed to trial, where prosecutors are expected to lay out the full timeline of alleged grooming and misconduct that spanned several years.
