JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Pages of redacted documents provided insight into how Duval County Schools investigated Dr. Corey Thayer, a former teacher at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts.
Thayer was one of six teachers removed from the school over allegations of inappropriate behavior.
In September 2023, the district was notified of new information related to a 2015 investigation against Thayer.
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The Office of Equity and Inclusion and Professional Standards received an email on March 28, 2023, from a former Douglas Anderson student. The student provided a written statement describing a “mutual attraction” with Thayer, the document said.
On Sept. 1, 2023, the office learned that the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office was actively investigating allegations made by the 2015 victim against Thayer, prompting the reopening of the 2015 investigation.
Former Superintendent Dr. Dana Kriznar sent an email on Sept. 1 stating that Thayer was removed from student contact and reassigned pending the outcome of the investigation.
The 2015 investigation did not find evidence to support inappropriate action by Thayer.
On Oct. 10, 2023, an investigator interviewed the victim via Zoom with Attorney Chris Moser present. The document said the victim claimed there was a “culture” in the film department that Thayer favored freshman girls. She alleged that he gave her and her friends nicknames, his sweatshirt, joked with her, and gave her piggyback rides. She also claimed she sat on Thayer’s lap and that he would rub her back, breasts, or bottom, according to the document.
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The victim further alleged that in October or November 2013, she went to the sound booth at Douglas Anderson during school hours and performed oral sex on Thayer for the first time, the document stated. She said she performed oral sex on him three more times afterward. In November 2013, she claimed to have had penetrative sex with Thayer in the sound booth, stating it was not forced, although she was “hesitant” and expressed reluctance, the document reported.
An interview with Thayer was scheduled for May 3, 2024, as part of the investigation. However, the interview was canceled on May 2 with plans to reschedule, but Thayer resigned on May 15, 2024, and no interview was conducted.
News4JAX reached out to DCPS for comment on the investigation. Dr. Tracey Pierce, district spokesperson, provided this statement:
Mr. Thayer resigned effective June 2024.
Also in June of 2024, then Superintendent Kriznar made good on her promise to create and begin implementation of a plan to enhance student safety.
Among other initiatives, that plan includes:
1. Strengthening procedures for reporting allegations.
2. Strengthening responses to allegations.
3. Increased capabilities to investigate allegations.
The plan also includes the campaign to Know the Line, an initiative to increase awareness of appropriate boundaries between students and staff and how to report situations in which those boundaries may have been violated.
In summary, we have taken the lessons learned and have made significant changes for the safety of our students.
Dr. Tracey Pierce, DCPS spokesperson
We also reached out to the victim, Thayer’s attorneys, and the Florida Department of Education for comment about the investigation documents and are awaiting responses.
