‘Could be a large number:’ 19 Duval schools’ employees, teachers removed so far this school year

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Action News Jax obtained a new report revealing the number of teachers removed from Duval County schools so far this year.

The district’s new superintendent launched a Know the Line campaign after issues of underreporting at schools.

Since its launch on August 26th, 19 teachers have been removed from the classroom, according to the data.

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“I think it’s incredible that this has been so fast-acting,” former Douglas Anderson School of the Arts student Shyla Jenkins said.

Jenkins has been advocating for better reporting since she learned about the DA teacher who had been arrested last year.

READ: ‘A long time coming:’ Former students react to sentencing of former DA teacher Jeffrey Clayton

The district’s new ‘Know the Line Campaign’ allows people to report inappropriate behavior between students and teachers. It also educates people about safety concerns.

“We have to ensure the protection of our employees and our kids,” Duval Schools Superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier said. “I do believe we’ve had more teachers this year identified and put on temporary duty and that’s exactly what should be happening in an organization that is now watching more carefully.”

Since Dr. Bernier launched the campaign, this new data shows there have been more than 170 reports made by supervisors, students, community members, and school principals.

The report shows that 19 teachers and employees have been removed from the classroom from 16 schools. And we’re only about two months into the school year.

“I think before there was a very muddy understanding of what that line was and I think now there is a very clear understanding and I think we’re seeing that,” Jenkins said.

This new data confirms that two teachers have been removed from DA.

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“I think it could be a larger number because we were underreporting,” Jenkins said. “DA has been in the news, but by no stretch of the imagination were we the only schools facing this. We were under the microscope because it was a perfect storm when everything happened.”

Beauclerc Elementary is taking the lead on this list with three people having been removed from the classroom.

Most recently, a student from Beauclerc Elementary had to be rushed to the hospital last month. A preliminary nurse report from Friday, September 20th, says an adult knocked the child’s teeth out during school.

Today, a faculty member with the school confirmed the person who was removed from the classroom on September 23rd on this list – is the same person who was involved in this incident.

“I think that they need to be removed from the classroom until the investigation is concluded,” Kings Trail Elementary PE Teacher Jennifer Kennedy said.

The most recent removal happened last week. The new data reveals a health teacher from LaVilla Middle School had been taken out of the classroom for allegations related to inappropriate communication with a student that was sexual in nature.

Action News Jax is waiting on the district’s response regarding the details of the LaVilla teacher that was removed last week.

You can find more information on the Know the Line campaign here.

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