DUVAL COUNTY, Fla. – Duval County Public Schools released a new blueprint for student safety aimed at protecting kids from predators.
This comes in response to multiple allegations of abuse at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts.
Earlier this month, longtime DA music teacher Jeffrey Clayton was sentenced to ten years in prison for crimes relating to touching and grooming a student.
Clayton’s arrest last spring unleashed a barrage of other allegations of abuse and a toxic culture at the school — and several other teachers were removed from the classroom amid investigations.
The district has reached settlements with three former DA students, including the victim in Clayton’s criminal case, totaling $1.45 million. However, that still needs board approval.
The district is also recommending more than a dozen changes to policy and procedure in the hopes of preventing what happened at DA from happening again at any school across the district.
On Thursday, DCPS released an eight-page plan to ensure student safety – not from outside threats, but from those within. The goal is to prevent employee sexual misconduct impacting students.
Read the full student safety plan below:
The plan lays out six overarching strategies, including improvements in policy, investigation, staff training, and awareness in students and parents of inappropriate adult behavior.
It recommends updating policy to mandate a person be removed from student contact when they’ve been accused of physically harming someone, sexual misconduct, or using or selling drugs– regardless of where the alleged offense occurred.
Under the plan, staff who are aware of allegations of employee misconduct and don’t report it, could face discipline and even termination.
The plan also recommends new rules on teacher-student fraternization… “unambiguously stat[ing] that employees texting, interacting on social media, and/or being along with students…may be ground, following due process, for disciplinary action up to and including termination.”
However, there would be exceptions, like for family members or a teacher giving a student a ride to a student in need.
MORE | State alleges DCPS failed to report Douglas Anderson sexual harassment incident
The plan also recommends hiring an outside HR expert to review the district’s procedures and beef up investigations by adding additional investigators, cabinet-level investigative review teams, certification for HR professionals, and a system for tracking disciplinary action across schools to identify any concerning patterns.
The district would implement mandatory training for staff on signs of sexual misconduct, clear professional boundaries, and their legal obligations.
Students would be equipped with age-appropriate training on identifying and reporting sexual misconduct, according to the plan.
“What Clayton and others did should not happen in any school. Schools should be places of trust and of trustworthy adults. With the benefit of hindsight through ongoing investigations, we can see areas where better policy, procedures, and systems will better protect students,” Interim Superintendent Dr. Dana Kriznar said in an email to Douglas Anderson parents.
Incoming Superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier shared his thoughts on the new safety plan.
“The plan represents essential steps to address past incidents and prevent future incidents. Proper implementation will be critical to ensure student safety as we move forward,” Bernier said.
A spokesperson for the district told News4JAX that the policies laid out in the plan will work their way through the school board approval process in the coming months.
The attorney for the victim in Clayton’s case sent News4JAX the following statement after learning about the new student safety plan:
”My client is relieved that justice has finally found Jeffrey Clayton, and we are content with the judge’s sentence. While nothing can remedy the treatment my client received, she is satisfied knowing that future students of Douglas Anderson will be a little safer, and that hopefully, administrators will now come to the aid of students in this type peril without hesitation. My client would like to thank the community that has shown nothing but support and encouragement during these challenging times.”
Attorney
As for the $1.45 million DA settlement, that money would come from the general fund for the upcoming school year. The board is set to vote on it Tuesday.