JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Since the start of the 2024-2025 academic year, 19 teachers have been removed from Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) classrooms on 16 campuses.
The high number of teachers who have been put on temporary duty is being attributed to the August 26 launch of the district’s Know the Line boundary training initiative by new DCPS Superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier, reports Action News Jax.
Related Article: SchoolSafety.gov Shares Child Exploitation Resources for K-12 Schools
According to a video message by Bernier, the purpose of the initiative “is to inform all stakeholders of the healthy boundaries that should exist between students and employees. We also want to ensure students and families know how to recognize and report any behavior that might cross those lines.”
The launch of Know the Line was prompted by more than $1 million in settlements DCPS has paid to cover Douglas Anderson School of the Arts teacher misconduct claims, reports Action News Jax. There were dozens of allegations of teacher misconduct at the school, with one teacher allegedly calling a student his “baby girl” and asking her to come to his classroom.
Since the campaign’s launch, supervisors, students, members of the community, and principals have made more than 170 reports.
In one case, a Beauclerc Elementary School student was taken to a local hospital after an adult knocked the child’s teeth out during the school day. The adult who was involved in the incident was removed from the classroom in late September. A total of three teachers from that school have been removed from the classroom
Related Article: 4 Ways to Address Child Sexual Abuse in Your Campus Community
In another case, a middle school teacher was removed from a classroom last week over allegations of inappropriate communication with a student that was sexual in nature.
What Are Appropriate Boundaries Between Students and School Employees?
DCPS’ Know the Line initiative defines the following as fostering safe boundaries between students and school employees:
- Communication – There should be no interactions between students and employees via phone calls, text, or social media. The only appropriate communication outside of school between employees and students should be with the following district-approved and monitored platforms: Teams, Rooms (on the district’s new app), or via emails from duvalschools.org accounts. Even with these platforms, one-on-one communication is discouraged.
- Physical Contact – Both employees and students are discouraged from any physical contact beyond a handshake, a high-five, or fist bump.
- Meetings – We encourage employees to plan ahead so they’re not alone with students. There are certain cases where this may be unavoidable. For example, when school counseling, mental health, or physical health services are being provided. In these cases, we are encouraging employees to balance the need for student privacy while still making sure they are in another individual’s line of sight.
The initiative also encourages students and families to reports their concerns via an employee misconduct reporting form.
