[RELATED: Jacksonville councilwoman to appeal 10-day unpaid suspension from DCPS teaching job]<\/a><\/p>\nRecognizing Professional Standards staff<\/p>\n
Carney took a moment to praise the district\u2019s Professional Standards Department, acknowledging the difficulty of conducting workplace investigations.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that our Professional Standards Department has gone through some changes, and I appreciate the changes that have been made,\u201d she said. \u201cI know that those investigations that are done by our staff are taxing and they\u2019re hard work and I appreciate all that they do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Due process, impartiality<\/p>\n
Carney was direct about the board\u2019s obligations once an investigation is complete, emphasizing that employees are entitled to due process and that board members must remain fair and impartial.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone that has brought before professional standards they are afforded due process, and it is our job as board members after the investigation is complete to be fair and impartial when making our decisions as applied by Florida law,\u201d Carney said.<\/p>\n
That statement comes as Clark-Murray alleged in a written statement that Carney\u2019s comments on X, posted before the investigation concluded, demonstrated bias. <\/p>\n
Clark-Murray said she requested Carney recuse herself from the suspension vote. <\/p>\n
The appeals process<\/p>\n
Carney also made clear that the board\u2019s vote is not necessarily the final word, outlining the appeal rights available to any disciplined employee.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of our employees are entitled to an appeal process, and that would go to the Department of Administrative Hearings, and then that could potentially come back to the board again to be voted on,\u201d Carney said.<\/p>\n
Clark-Murray has since confirmed she plans to do exactly that.<\/p>\n
Carney said the level of public concern around student safety and discipline made it essential to walk through the process openly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just felt it necessary that given the amount and a lot we\u2019ve heard from the public about student safety and discipline that we talk about how our process works,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Background<\/p>\n
The suspension stems from a DCPS human resources investigation into alleged inappropriate physical contact involving Clark-Murray, who teaches at Alfred DuPont Middle School.<\/p>\n
In May, the district confirmed Clark-Murray had been removed from classroom duties and temporarily reassigned to a role with no student contact while the investigation continued. DCPS has not publicly detailed the specific incident and said it would not provide further information during the active investigation.<\/p>\n
In a statement, Clark-Murray said the board\u2019s decision was unusual given her 33 years of service, her claim of no prior disciplinary history and \u201cHighly Effective\u201d performance ratings in both the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years. She argued the district bypassed required steps in its progressive discipline policy and that similar cases have been overturned in court. <\/p>\n
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