Kelan Durn has been charged with child neglect, according to an arrest affidavit from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
A substitute teacher at Kathleen Middle School has been charged with child neglect after he allegedly allowed students to fight during class.
In an arrest affidavit from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, deputies said 24-year-old Kelan Durn was assigned to a teacher’s class for the day on March 7. A video taken on that day allegedly shows Durn making no attempts to intervene as students fought in the classroom.
Deputies said the video also shows Durn sitting in the back of the room while students fought.
“Mr. Durn advised them to stop fighting, but he was laughing when he said it and made no attempt to stop them,” deputies shared in the affidavit.
When questioned, Durn reportedly told investigators that he didn’t intervene “in fear of touching the students.”
“When asked why he did not call for administration for assistance, he shrugged his shoulders,” deputies added.
Durn was arrested on March 8 and ultimately charged with neglect of a child without great bodily harm. In a statement, Polk County Public Schools said Durn will no longer be involved with the district.
“This is unacceptable behavior for any educator working in our schools,” the school district stated. “Just to clarify, (Durn) was not a PCPS employee. He works for Kelly Education, a company that provides substitutes to school districts, including PCPS. We have notified Kelly Education that he is no longer allowed to serve within our schools.”