A former Gwinnett County high school teacher was arrested Tuesday on charges she had a sexual relationship with one of her students.

Julee Sams Impara, 48, was charged with sexual assault and booked at the county jail, Gwinnett County police said in a news release.

Impara, who was a language arts teacher at Mill Creek High School, was accused by the parents of a 17-year-old male student at the school of having an inappropriate relationship. She neither confirmed nor denied the allegations, according to documents obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution through the Georgia Open Records Act.

The boy’s parents said they found several inappropriate text messages between him and Impara. The parents asked her to resign and leave their son alone during the Thanksgiving weekend or they would inform authorities about their allegations, school records show. The parents reported their concerns when she returned to school after the break, records show. Impara resigned Dec. 9.

Gwinnett school district officials forwarded the allegations to the state’s Professional Standards Commission. Paul Shaw, the commission’s executive assistant, said Tuesday that his office has an open investigation into the case and declined further comment.

Gwinnett police said they began their own investigation on Jan. 15. Police said Impara and the teen began having sexual contact outside of school and she picked up the victim at his home on occasion.

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