A teacher in Brevard County bit a child on the cheek after the child bit her finger and kept her job, continuing to teach in the classroom for more than a decade after the incident.
Another in Miami-Dade County struck a first grade boy and received a 10-day unpaid suspension, probation, counseling, and a formal reprimand, but was allowed to continue teaching. He retired voluntarily in summer 2023, though his teaching certificate remains active.
Elsewhere across Florida, teachers formally disciplined for sexualized behavior toward students, failure to report abuse, domestic violence, and the use of hate speech also retained their positions.
Meanwhile, Melissa Calhoun, a high school teacher in Brevard County, lost her job for using a student’s preferred name without parental consent, violating a 2023 Florida law that bars schools from using names or pronouns not aligned with a student’s sex assigned at birth. The law also requires written consent for any deviation from a legal name. Brevard Public Schools said a parent had complained that staff were using a “preferred male nickname” for their child, accusing teachers of “influencing and grooming this behavior.”
In a statement, the district said Calhoun admitted she knowingly violated the statute and was given a letter of reprimand. Her contract, set to expire in May 2025, was not renewed, and her teaching certificate is now under state review.
Discipline for Abuse, Retention in Classrooms
State records show that in multiple other cases, even when behavior directly endangered students, disciplinary measures often fell short of termination.
Charlotte County
A middle school teacher remained employed after using racist, homophobic, and ableist slurs — content warning: offensive language, including “nigger,” “faggot,” and “retarded” — and making graphic sexual comments in class. She was placed on administrative leave but returned within two weeks and transferred to a different school. A district-level reprimand was overturned through the grievance process, but the state imposed a formal reprimand, two years of probation, mandatory ethics and bullying coursework, and a $750 fine.
Lee County
A science educator continues to teach after he took photos of three female students’ buttocks without their consent. He was suspended without pay for five days, transferred to another school, and barred from coaching for a year. The state issued a reprimand, required counseling through the Recovery Network Program, and fined him $1,000. Despite the misconduct, his teaching certificate remains valid, and he’s still in the classroom.
Brevard County (P.E. coach)
A coach and physical education teacher continued to work despite multiple reprimands for inappropriate conduct with students spanning several years.
The state said he “failed to protect the health, safety, and welfare of a fourth grade female student, when he hugged her and/or hugged her from behind and/or grabbed her from behind and/or grabbed her breast. As a result, (she) was uncomfortable and/or upset.”
He also made inappropriate comments to fifth grade female students, including telling them to “stick their butts out so he could paddle them” while holding a paddle, and calling female students “baby.”
The district issued multiple letters of reprimand for inappropriate language and physical interactions. The teacher was placed on paid administrative leave and received a three-day suspension without pay for throwing a soccer ball at a student’s head in April 2017, later reduced to one day through a settlement agreement.
The state issued a formal reprimand, placed him on three years ‘ probation, required him to complete an ethics education course, and fined him $750. His teaching certificate was not revoked, and the probation terms explicitly allowed continued employment, which required a Florida educator’s certificate.
Records show he remained employed as a teacher at Bayside High School, where he received yet another letter of reprimand in May 2024 for repeating a racial slur in class, telling a student —content warning: offensive language, “You wouldn’t want me to call you a nigger(a),” after the student used the word. He resigned soon after.
St. Lucie County
A high school science teacher continued his employment after multiple allegations of inappropriate physical contact with students during the 2021-2022 school year.
According to the administrative complaint, he asked a female student if she was as pretty as her mother in front of other students, pushed a female student’s head down toward her legs while she was talking to another student, put his finger in the rip of another female student’s jeans and moved it back and forth on her leg, and made an obscene gesture with his middle finger toward a male student in the gymnasium before climbing the bleachers, grabbing the student’s shoulders and jamming his knee into the student’s back. He also allegedly made inappropriate comments, including complaining about a student’s crop top and asking how she would feel if he wore one, lifting his shirt to expose himself.
He was placed on paid administrative leave at home beginning May 16, 2023, for eight consecutive days, totaling 60 hours.
The teacher holds a Florida educator’s certificate valid through June 2028.
The state issued a formal reprimand and placed him on probation for three years. As of April 2025, his employment status with St. Lucie County School District remained active.
Brevard County (Pre-K teacher)
A pre-kindergarten teacher failed to report suspected abuse of a 4-year-old student on two separate occasions in November 2017. Despite this violation of state law and school policy, she remained in the classroom for years afterward.
The Florida Education Practices Commission issued a formal reprimand, placed her on one-year probation, fined her $750, and ordered her to complete a course on identifying and reporting child abuse.
At the district level, the school board recommended a three-day suspension without pay, but it was reduced to a single day through a grievance settlement. Additional concerns were documented in a conference summary, including reports that the teacher placed her hand over a student’s mouth and used water to wake another child from a nap.
She was reappointed through at least the 2020–21 school year and continued teaching until she resigned in May 2022.
Duval County
A third grade teacher remained employed despite a domestic battery arrest and formal state discipline.
In 2012, the teacher was arrested after reportedly throwing his then-girlfriend on a bed and hitting her “several times with his fist.” He later pleaded guilty to simple battery, received probation, was ordered to complete a Batterer’s Intervention Program, and was prohibited from contacting the victim.
He also failed to report the arrest and its legal outcome to school administrators, a violation of professional conduct rules.
The state issued a formal letter of reprimand, imposed a two-year probationary period, fined him $500, and required him to undergo counseling through the state’s Recovery Network Program.
Despite these findings, the teacher retained his state certification and continues working in Duval County Public Schools.
The Case of Karly Anderson (Brevard County)
Karly Anderson, a third grade teacher, was arrested in January 2025 after allegedly attending a house party where underage drinking occurred at a school administrator’s home. Initially charged with felony child neglect and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, her charges were reduced to misdemeanors on April 1, 2025, making her eligible to return to teaching.
She resumed duties at a different school on April 14, only to be placed on administrative leave later that day after bodycam footage emerged. Superintendent Dr. Mark Rendell said the district hadn’t seen the footage before reinstatement and described Anderson’s actions as “completely unacceptable and do not match the charges given.”
A jury later found her guilty of misdemeanor disorderly intoxication and resisting an officer without violence. She was sentenced to one year’s probation and 100 hours of community service. On April 25, Anderson entered a mutual separation agreement with the district, resigning with a payout of $27,797 for accrued sick leave. The Florida Department of Education is reviewing her educator status.
Systemic Patterns & Policy Implications
In each of these cases, even those involving criminal charges, teachers received state discipline short of job or certification loss. Common sanctions included reprimands, probation, mandatory training, and fines.
Calhoun’s dismissal reinforces the sharp prioritization of enforcement under Florida’s “parental rights” law. The district emphasized its duty to “support students academically… in partnership with parents.” Critics, by contrast, see the policy as targeting LGBTQ+ students and educators while allowing more serious misconduct to go insufficiently penalized.
Failures in Oversight
A 2016 USA TODAY Network investigation revealed major gaps in national teacher vetting systems, finding over 9,000 disciplined educators, including at least 1,400 whose licenses were revoked, to be absent from the national NASDTEC Clearinghouse, the only centralized database for flagging misconduct.
More recently, a July 2024 Florida Department of Education Inspector General report, obtained by News4JAX, disclosed that Duval County Public Schools failed to report 73 cases of educator misconduct to the state, even after Commissioner Manny Diaz threatened to dock the superintendent’s pay over 50 initially unreported cases from as far back as 2020. Among these were allegations of racial slurs and teachers showing sexual videos to students. The report blamed the district’s Professional Standards office for being overwhelmed and lacking a proper case-management system.
Uneven Education Standards
Melissa Calhoun lost her job over a technical violation involving a student’s identity. Meanwhile, educators with documented histories of physical abuse, sexual misconduct, hate speech, or failure to report abuse continue teaching under formal disciplinary agreements. And these are only the recent cases, uncovered in a review that was far from comprehensive.
This growing disparity raises urgent concerns: Is Florida’s discipline system safeguarding students, or merely enforcing political compliance?
Last Updated on February 2, 2026 by Joe Douglass
