Charges of child abuse against teacher dismissed due to lack of evidence
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — After being arrested on a child abuse charge in connection with an allegation made in October 2021 by a student at Darnell-Cookman School of the Medical Arts, a former teacher for the Duval County Public Schools is speaking out to tell her side of the story. The allegation that led to her arrest was made by the student.
An arrest report from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office states that Caroline Lee allegedly struck a student after the student posted a reply on Instagram in which they congratulated Lee on being named Teacher of the Year. According to the report, the incident occurred after Lee saw the student’s post.
The State Attorney’s Office decided not to pursue charges against Lee one month ago, citing an insufficient amount of evidence. Lee says that she is innocent and that she took and passed a polygraph test on her own initiative.
“It’s not in my persona. It’s just not something that I do,” she said.
In spite of the fact that the case was dropped, Lee has not gone back to Darnell-Cookman.
“I want all teachers to be able to go into a classroom and be able to teach and not have to worry that a student is going to make a false claim and they are going to end up, as I did, in shackles,” Lee said.
She claims that she was not provided with an opportunity to argue her case at the hearing that resulted in the loss of her teaching license. She reports that the kid who made the accusation is present in the classroom at this time. According to Lee, she was subjected to criticism for assaulting the student, who, contrary to what some people have said, is not a person of color. Lee claims she was criticized for her actions.
She is advocating for a more equitable procedure. “Look at me. Take a look at my educational history. Take a look at my individuality. Now, do the same thing for the student before you decide that the instructor is the guilty party and put that party in prison. “
She claims that the principal who was in charge of the school when the event occurred is no longer there.
Now, Lee is keeping her fingers crossed that she’ll be able to get her teaching job again.
“At the end of the day, the majority of us are in the classroom because we want to be in the classroom. We have a passion for teaching, for learning. On the whole, we love our students,” she said.
