Councilwoman says student kicked her first — school board suspends her anyway

BS BULLETIN:

Jacksonville City Councilwoman Tyrona Clark-Murray received a 10-day unpaid suspension after reportedly kicking a 13-year-old student with special needs.
The veteran educator says the student kicked her first and argues the district ignored her 33-year disciplinary record.
She’s appealing the punishment — and accusing a school board member of prejudging her case on social media.

A Florida city councilwoman who also works as a middle school educator says she kicked a 13-year-old special-needs student because he kicked her first.

Now she’s fighting a 10-day unpaid suspension, arguing the school district skipped its own disciplinary procedures.

Jacksonville City Councilwoman Tyrona Clark-Murray, 57, has worked for Duval County Public Schools for 33 years. She was removed from classroom duties in May following an incident at Alfred duPont Middle School involving a student enrolled in a program for children with autism or emotional disabilities.

According to Action News Jax, sources said Clark-Murray reported the incident herself and told district police the student kicked her first. She said she kicked back to stop him.

The boy reportedly suffered bruises and scratches. His parents declined to press charges, and no criminal charges against Clark-Murray have been reported.

But some local officials weren’t buying the self-defense explanation. School Board Vice Chair April Carney called the incident “unacceptable” and argued there should be zero tolerance for striking a student.

Fellow City Councilman Rory Diamond was even more pointed. “Violence against a student is never acceptable,” Diamond said.

He also questioned whether Clark-Murray should remain in public office, although he acknowledged that any criminal implications would require further investigation.

The Duval County School Board voted Tuesday to suspend Clark-Murray from her teaching job for 10 days without pay. And the councilwoman isn’t taking the punishment quietly.

In a statement Wednesday, she announced plans to appeal, pointing to her 33 years of service, lack of prior discipline, and “Highly Effective” performance ratings during the past two school years.

“The District skipped multiple steps of progressive discipline in this case, and cases like it have previously been overturned by the Courts,” her statement said.

Clark-Murray also accused Carney of demonstrating bias through social media comments made before the investigation concluded. Her union attorney requested that Carney recuse herself from the suspension vote.

Carney refused, maintaining that her earlier remarks recognized the seriousness of the allegations while respecting Clark-Murray’s right to due process. The board member said she reviewed the record before voting and insisted the outcome would have been the same without her vote.

The suspension was approved as part of a consent agenda, with only one board member voting against the package. That member, Darryl Willie, said his objection was primarily related to book removals included in the same agenda.

Clark-Murray’s appeal will go before Florida’s Division of Administrative Hearings, where an administrative law judge can review testimony and evidence.

The dispute also raises a broader question about classroom safety.

School Board member Melody Bolduc previously acknowledged that educators working with students who have significant behavioral challenges can face biting, kicking, scratching and other physical assaults. But she also emphasized that students must be protected from harm.

For Clark-Murray, the question is whether her reported response to being kicked justified suspension — and whether the district followed the rules before imposing it.

For the school board, the issue is whether a veteran teacher’s record and claim of self-defense excuse physical retaliation against a child.

The appeal could determine whether the punishment stands.

MY QUICK TAKE

Thirty-three years in the classroom, four years on the City Council, and now a disciplinary case over who kicked whom first.

Teaching special-needs children can be extraordinarily demanding. Nobody should pretend otherwise. But there’s a reason schools have procedures for handling physical aggression — and “he started it” generally isn’t one of them.