Local mom alleges DCPS teacher hit her kid at school

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Allegations are being made by a local mother after her child came out of school with a gash in his head.

Back in December, a woman by the name of Lachaundra reached out to Action News Jax reporter, Meghan Moriarty. She said her 4-year-old son was hit by his teacher.

We’ve chosen not to use her last name or show her face in our on-air for legal reasons.

Lachaundra said she was driving to pick up her son from school when she received this text message from his teacher: “‘blank’ threw a toy today and it ricocheted off a desk back into his face. He has a gash in his forehead and its’ swelled up quite a bit.”

Lachaundra said she pulled up for pick up. Her son came out and she said his injuries were exactly how his teacher described in her text. However, her son’s story was different.

“He was like ‘yeah she hit my head. She made my brain hurt,’” Lachaundra said.

In an incident report from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, it states that doctors said “the laceration was deep so medical staff had to use glue to seal the hole/wound.”

The teacher has not been charged with a crime in this specific case, so we are not releasing her name.

Moriarty reached out to the school district asking about her status as an employee. In an email they explained that she was reassigned to duties not involving students.

Moriarty decided to look further into the teacher’s background.

Right now, there is an open case from 2019 with a charge for aggravated battery. The police report said the teacher allegedly began to beat a woman who lived with her “over the head with a toilet paper roller holder repeatedly” and “bit the victim of the left outside calf.” The case is still open and the teacher has plead not guilty. In the police report it states she denied the claims.

In 2018, the teacher was arrested and charged with battery on her 80-year-old neighbor. In the report her neighbor said she would call animal control if the suspect’s cats keep coming over to her backyard.

The report states the teacher said, “I can get in your backyard, get your dogs and I can set your house on fire too.” The report continues to say the teacher shoved her way into the neighbor’s home, grabbed the victim’s right forearm and shoved her into a wall.

Court records show the teacher entered a no contest plea, meaning she is not admitting to the crime, but also is not denying it. The court withheld an adjudication of guilt, meaning the teacher does not have a formal conviction.

Moriarty reached out the district again after getting these documents and received a response on Thursday.

It said, “As we stated previously, the employee was removed from student contact in October due to a human resources matter. The individual’s previous conduct resulted in appropriate employee disciplinary action in accordance with the district’s teacher contract.”

The disciplinary action they’re referring to is a document from June of 2020. It’s from the Education Practices Commission of Florida. The 11 page document said the teacher is on probation for two years, must pay a series of fines, and seek counseling.

Lachaundra’s incident happened in October of 2020.

Moriarty made contact with the teacher via email.

In it she wrote “at the advice of my legal team, I am unable to make a statement at this time.”

Cox Media Group