JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Duval County School Board members plan to meet Friday at 2 p.m. to continue a discussion about recent misconduct issues at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts and about the district’s methods for reporting instances of employee misconduct to various state agencies.
It will be the second special board meeting held in the same week, both, addressing what led to the recent submission of 50 backlogged investigative cases involving teachers to the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Professional Practices and, as DCPS board chairwoman Dr. Kelly Coker described in a Wednesday statement, “determining the system failures that allowed Jeffrey Clayton to remain in the classroom for years after multiple district-led investigations involving inappropriate conduct.
Here are three things to know ahead of Friday’s meeting of the Duval County School Board:
District hires firm to investigate
On Wednesday, the Duval County School Board discussed and ultimately supported, the hiring of an outside law firm to investigate multiple aspects of the issues that arose from Douglas Anderson School of the Arts.
That law firm, Weiss Serota Helfman Cole and Bierman, is likely to be retained by the end of the week, according to the Jacksonville Office of General Counsel.
“The goal of this investigation is not only to just get to the bottom of what happened, it’s also to fix the problems,” said Jon Philips, who is Deputy General Counsel with Jacksonville’s OGC. “It’s also to get feedback on just exactly what we can do and should do to make sure this never happens again.”
The firm will be consulting with and assisting the city’s office of general counsel in conducting an investigation regarding Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, as well as any lawsuits that arise from alleged misconduct by at least four teachers there. At least three outside law firms are representing clients related to issues at DASOTA.
The firm is also tasked with looking into claims made by the Florida Education Commissioner on Tuesday that 50 cases of misconduct in Duval County schools were not reported to the state’s Office of Professional Practices in a timely manner.
Reassignment of Professional Standards Supervisor
One day after Florida’s Education Commissioner, Manny Diaz, sent a letter to DCPS superintendent Diana Greene accusing the district of failing to report, in a timely manner, 50 cases of misconduct in DCPS to the state’s Office of Professional Practices, the district reassigned its supervisor of the Office of Equity/Inclusion and Professional Standards.
Reginald Johnson managed the office that oversees keeping discipline records, advising administrators on how to handle misconduct situations, investigating employee misconduct, and serving as the main point of contact with state agencies like the state’s Office of Professional Practices, the Florida Department of Education, the Department of Children and Families, and even law enforcement agencies among others.
In Diaz’ letter to Greene, he called the omission of the 50 reports “unacceptable.”
“It is completely unacceptable that DCPS did not timely report these cases as required by Florida Statute,” Florida Department of Education Commissioner Manny Diaz wrote, adding that the conduct is “putting the health, safety, and welfare of students in jeopardy.”
Dr. Greene responded in agreement with Diaz’ sentiment, saying she was surprised and angered to find the district had 50 case files that had only been sent to the state recently.
The School Board website says the process of reporting employee misconduct would fall under Johnson’s purview.
Superintendent Scrutiny & Support
Amid the fallout from repeated reports of misconduct at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts and subsequent revelations about the district’s reporting practices, multiple sources within DCPS who spoke on the condition of anonymity told News4JAX that superintendent Diana Greene’s job could be on the line.
On Wednesday, following the special board meeting wherein the board discussed hiring an outside law firm to investigate the DASOTA matters, Greene seemingly dispelled rumors that she’ll be departing from the role before at least the end of the current school year.
“Today, I’m still the superintendent, and I’m going to continue doing the things as superintendent I would normally do,” Greene said. “People can expect to see me continue to fight for our students, continue to see me address whatever issues may arise.”
Greene also made clear that she’s in full support of the investigation and emphasized that her priority is addressing the situation head-on.
“I am in full support of this investigation because if there are things that are wrong in our system, we need to get it fixed, and I’m confident that we will resolve these issues and that the school district is going to be a better district for it,” Greene said.
Greene said her focus right now is on testing, which is currently underway.
More than 100 supporters gathered Monday outside the Duval County Public Schools offices, asking board members to end the political chaos and keep Greene on as superintendent.
Greene is currently in the Deferred Retirement Option Program and is rumored to be planning to resign within the next couple years.