JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Duval County Public School’s ‘Know the Line’ campaign is helping to keep students safe.
Since the campaign launched in late August, 19 teachers and employees have been temporarily removed from their positions as a result of the reporting.
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Of those 19, nine were teachers, two were PE teachers, and one was a health teacher. Four were paraprofessionals and three were security guards.
News4JAX learned through a records request that more than 100 reports have been made through the campaign including:
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141 through the Misconduct Reporting Forms which were submitted from supervisors regarding conduct that would involve an allegation of violating the ‘Know the Line’ behavior
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30 came from ‘Reporting Forms for Complaints & Employee Misconduct’ or the ‘General Form’
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17 were complaints from the community, students, or employees
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13 were from school principals or Assistant Principals and should have been entered as a ‘Misconduct Reporting Form’
During the Oct. 1 school board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier addressed the ‘Know the Line’ campaign during his report.
“We continue to work the process of ‘Know the Line’. I do believe we’ve had more teachers this year identified and put on temporary duty but that’s exactly what should be happening in an organization that is now watching more carefully to ensure both our students, adults, and other people who visit our school are in the safest position possible,” said Dr. Bernier.
Here is the report we received from Duval County Schools on Friday:
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14 of the reports made from August through September were labeled as ‘Inappropriate Physical Contact with a student’ and included teachers, paraprofessionals, and a security guard
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1 health teacher from Lavilla was reported on Sept. 25 for ‘Inappropriate Communication with a student- Sexual’
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1 Security Guard was reported on Sept. 5 for ‘Inappropriate Communications with a student’
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1 teacher at Jean Ribault High School was reported on Sept. 4 for ‘Inappropriate Physical Contact with a colleague’
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1 Douglas Anderson teacher was reported on Aug. 28 for ‘Inappropriate Communications with a student of Sexual Nature’
The Duval County School Board unanimously passed an updated ethics policy in September after battling several employee misconduct issues. Including six teachers who were removed from classes at Douglas Anderson.
There has been one criminal prosecution related to a teacher’s actions. Jeffrey Clayton admitted to physical contact with students and other charges.
Three Douglas Anderson students also reached a $1.45 million settlement with the district over complaints of teacher misconduct.
During Tuesday’s School Board meeting Dr. Bernier thanked the community for ‘Knowing the Line’.
“It’s a difficult position to be in when you have to report a fellow employee based upon what you’ve seen or heard but our staff is listening to this board’s message that was delivered over the Summer,” Dr. Bernier said.
The DCPS website has a page devoted to the ‘Know the Line’ campaign. You can learn more about how they define healthy boundaries for students and employees. You can also make reports through that page.
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