Florida Education Commissioner: ‘Lack of progress’ by DCPS in reporting alleged teacher misconduct

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Duval County Public Schools Interim Superintendent Dr. Dana Kriznar is coming under fire from Florida Department of Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr.

In a letter sent by Diaz to Kriznar on Thursday, he said he was concerned by the “lack of progress” in issues “affecting the health, safety and welfare of students in Duval County Public Schools.”

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“It is clear that there is more work that needs to be done in your district,” Diaz wrote.

He cited the recent arrest of Douglas Anderson School of the Arts teacher Christopher Allen-Black on a charge of exposure of sexual organs, saying the district didn’t move quick enough in removing Allen-Black from the classroom after his arrest on Feb. 24.

“Rather than immediately removing Mr. Allen-Black from direct contact with students, you elected to allow him to remain in the classroom until April 11, 2024. This is unacceptable,” Diaz wrote.

INVESTIGATES: State calls DCPS delay in reporting teacher misconduct ‘completely unacceptable’

Action News Jax told you in April 2023, when Diaz wrote a scathing letter to Kriznar’s predecessor, Dr. Diana Greene, about the district’s delay in reporting dozens of other incidents of alleged teacher misconduct to the DOE’s Office of Professional Practices Services (PPS) at other schools.

Diaz cited that past letter in his letter to Kriznar, writing, “This prompted the Office of Inspector General (OIG) to begin investigating DCPS for their delayed reporting in violation of Section 1012.796(1)(d)1., Florida Statutes (F.S.). On January 25, 2024, the OIG released Investigative Report 2023-0003, that substantiated that DCPS failed to report alleged teacher misconduct to PPS ... "

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In response to Diaz’s 2023 letter, Duval schools’ supervisor of the professional standards office was reassigned and placed under investigation.

Diaz said in Thursday’s letter to Kriznar that on Feb. 1, he shared the OIG’s findings with Kriznar, who he said “indicated that DCPS was committed to the health, safety and welfare of students.”

Then the news of Allen-Black’s arrest became public in April after parents of students in his class were informed.

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He closed the letter by saying he expects a response from Kriznar within five days “outlining what steps you will take to ensure that these issues are immediately addressed.” Diaz copied members of the Duval County School Board on the letter.

Meanwhile, DCPS is in the midst of a search for a new superintendent, with two finalists still in the running.

Action News Jax has reached out to DCPS to see if it has a response to Diaz’s letter and is waiting to hear back.

Read the full letter from Diaz to Kriznar below:

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