JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — In an email sent to parents of Douglas Anderson School of the Arts students Thursday, Superintendent Dr. Dana Kriznar said Jeffrey Clayton's arrest and subsequent prison sentence exposed "weaknesses in the district's ability to achieve one of its primary goals" of student safety. She attached a new, comprehensive plan to protect students in Duval County Public Schools going forward; she also revealed steps already being taken at DA, including ongoing investigations of staff.
Clayton, 66, was sentenced to 10 years in prison after he confessed to kissing and touching a minor student, with whom he exchanged around 1,700 texts.
Clayton was arrested in March 2023. He was not the last Douglas Anderson teacher to be criminally charged within a one-year period.
In February 2024, math teacher Christopher Allen-Black was arrested on charges of exposing himself at a Disney World hotel. He was allowed to remain teaching for over a month, sparking outrage from Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz. Diaz penned a letter to Kriznar sharing his concerns about the "lack of progress and action" on the issue of student safety at DCPS. Diaz had previously sent a letter after Clayton's arrest, saying the district failed to properly report at least 50 campus incidents and conduct violations.
District officials have been working to come up with a comprehensive plan for student safety. On May 10, Kriznar sent out an email explaining steps already taken by the district.
Moving forward
Kriznar said in her email Thursday she is "deeply sorry that (the district) did not better protect... students from the action of these predators."
She says investigations are still underway at Douglas Anderson to "determine if any unaddressed allegations remain."
"What Clayton and others did should not happen in any school. Schools should be places of trust and of trustworthy adults," she wrote. "With the benefit of hindsight through ongoing investigations, we can see areas where better policy, procedures, and systems will better protect students. We now turn our energy and focus to addressing the lessons learned for the benefit of our DA students, as well as all other students in our schools."
The new action plan lists 20 strategies organized into six categories. One of the policy improvements mentioned in the plan is that any employee who is arrested for child abuse, bodily harm to any person, sexual misconduct or use/distribution of illegal drugs will be removed from student contact. The plan explicitly mentions "exposure" as one of the sexual misconduct crimes that falls under this rule, a rule which would have prevented Allen-Black from continuing to teach after his arrest.
The plan also modifies the district's policy on "fraternization with students," qualifying that employees texting students (like Clayton), interacting on social media, and/or being alone with students who are not their family members could be grounds for disciplinary action, including termination.
The district will be adding additional investigators to its staff to expedite misconduct investigations and working with students to educate them about when they should report faculty.
Shyla Jenkins, a former student of Jeffrey Clayton's, said the plan is disappointing.
“What is missing in this document is, what were we doing before? How are we going to measure that new era of success when we don't know what was occurring before to now?"
The full plan can be read below or by clicking here.