Teacher Says He Was Wrongly Accused Of Misconduct. Charges Never Substantiated. But District Allegedly Erred In Investigation, Punishment.
BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2025 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — A teacher at Boca Raton High School is suing the school district, school administrators, and a former student after that student made claims that the teacher acted inappropriately towards her. The claims were never substantiated. The teacher says he’s suffered medical and other issues as a result of the false claim and allegedly botched investigation.
Jordan Hernandez, an award-winning teacher at the school, is suing in Palm Beach County Circuit Court where the statutory minimum is $50,000. His attorneys allege that the Palm Beach County School District grossly mishandled the misconduct investigation, and took the word of a student who Hernandez claims is well known to have serious issues. Here are key sections of the lawsuit. We are publishing the entire suit, below.
“This is an action for negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and defamation arising from malicious and false rumors spread by a single student and the subsequent failure from employees of Defendant Palm Beach County School District to properly investigate fictitious allegations of an inappropriate relationship between an educator and his student. Rather than investigating the matter, which would have revealed the accusations were baseless, administration for the school district failed to take any proper action. Instead, defendant Kiana Moreno continually defamed Mr. Hernandez. Mr. Hernandez’s reputation has been damaged, and he has suffered severe emotional distress from the event. The defendants have caused Mr. Hernandez to seek routine medical treatment and forced him to be monitored and treated by medical professionals since the events transpired.
In addition to his role as a classroom teacher, Mr. Hernandez served as the coach for both the Boys and Girls Varsity Golf teams and diligently ran a mental health leadership class called, Restoring Culture & We Dine Together, (“WDT,”) which provides crucial support and resources to students. Mr. Hernandez controlled the course’s curriculum, carefully outlined its learning objectives, and planned collaborative activities for the students enrolled. WDT played an important role in promoting mental wellness and providing a safe space for students to be themselves and to manage their mental health struggles. The program has reached millions around the world.’ For his dedication and commitment to bettering his students, Mr. Hernandez was awarded Palm Beach County Coach of the Year, 2020’s Teacher of the Year, and A National Life Changer of the Year nominee.
Once an accusation was made by defendant Kiana Moreno that lacked any credibility or reliability, the school district completely turned their back on Mr. Hernandez, created an unsafe, unwelcoming environment for him. Administration would point fingers at him, scold him and ridicule him. This is the same teacher whom they repeatedly awarded and commended for his excellence in the classroom and how he improved the lives of his students. The district abandoned one of their own, giving Mr. Hernandez no due process in the situation, nor investigate such a clearly fictitious rumor by a malicious teenager. Up until that point, Mr. Hernandez was continually looked at in high regards by educations, faculty, parents, and the community as a whole.”
Moreno began disseminating false and malevolent rumors about Mr. Hernandez during the 2022-2023 school year. These rumors accused Mr. Hernandez of bullying Moreno, initiating a series of late-night phone calls with her (insinuating an inappropriate student-teacher relationship), consuming alcohol with his underaged high school students, stealing from nonprofit grants and keeping the money, and attempts to schedule plans to get together with Moreno once she got to college. These were just a few of the malicious, completely false, and reckless fallacies that were brought to Mr. Hernandez’s attention. Further, Moreno maliciously told other students that Mr. Hernandez was a sociopath and psychopath who preys on weak and needy students.’
Moreno was known among her classmates as an unstable student who enjoyed gossiping and spreading rumors. Among her peers, Moreno would call Mr. Hernandez “eye candy” and referred to him as the “hot male teacher.” Several students expressed their uncomfortability with the way Moreno spoke about him.”
Read the complete lawsuit, below. Neither the Palm Beach County School District nor Kiana Moreno have filed a response to the suit that has been processed by the Palm Beach County Clerk of Courts.
