JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Duval County Public Schools waited more than six weeks after learning a Douglas Anderson math teacher had been arrested before removing him from the classroom.
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Chris Allen-Black was arrested at a Disney resort on Feb. 24.
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According to the police report, he has been accused of standing naked and touching himself in front of a window overlooking a pool area, where onlookers were able to view him.
Duval County Public Schools told Action News Jax the district learned about Allen-Black’s arrest on Feb. 27.
But the district did not remove him from the classroom until April 11th.
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It was another week later on April 17, when parents were finally notified about his removal.
“Initially, the district followed protocol regarding a misdemeanor arrest and failure to report it to the district, while we sought guidance from the Office of General Counsel. Families were notified on April 17, the day after the district completed its formal process for removing a teacher,” a district spokesperson told Action News Jax in an emailed statement.
But former Douglas Anderson student Shyla Jenkins was skeptical about the reasoning for the delay.
“I feel like every time this story happens, it’s only because the news has gotten ahold of it that the parents are even notified,” said Jenkins.
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She started pushing for change at the school after her former teacher, Jeffery Clayton, was arrested and accused of sexually harassing a student last March.
“That’s the most frustrating thing about all of this, is a year ago students, alumni came forward with just this cry and this need to be heard about the culture that is happening there, the toxicity of what has happened and what obviously continues to fester. And nothing has changed,” said Jenkins.
Allen-Black’s arrest marks the second Douglas Anderson teacher to be arrested in a little over a year.
Additionally, in March and April of last year three more teachers, including Corey Thayer and two others who were never named by the district, were removed from the classroom pending the outcome of district investigations.
“There’s an open investigation that was started a year ago this month and quite frankly, we’ve heard nothing,” said Jenkins.
Action News Jax asked the district for an update on the investigations of the three teachers removed last year.
We’re still waiting for an answer.
In response to other questions posed by Action News Jax, a district spokesperson explained all instructional personnel are subjected to level two background checks in accordance with state law and noted, “These processes cannot predict future behavior”.
Jenkins argued the district should implement new, or revise polices to ensure teachers accused of sexual misconduct are removed from the classroom as soon as possible.
“Teachers can be falsely accused, but here we are again with this situation where it feels very reactionary every time and the system seems to be broken,” said Jenkins.
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The district did tell Action News Jax the state is working on a new process for expedited notification, which is expected to finalized and in place sometime next year.
DCPS also explained it has implemented some measures to help students report sexual misconduct.
“This year, we launched on online process for students to be able to report this type of behavior. We are also creating grade-level appropriate videos to inform students on how to recognize and report any type of harassment including sexual harassment,” said a district spokesperson in an emailed statement.
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