Content Notice: Our team received the investigation report concerning Mrs. Julie Lawson, former principal of Kate Sullivan Elementary School. This post discusses reported physical contact involving a student, failures in parental notification, alleged sexual assault, and alleged retaliation against school employees. Readers should use discretion.
A History of Retaliation, Harassment, and Questions About What District Leaders Knew
The investigation report begins with historical information about Julie Lawson and previous complaints against her. While Lawson was working at Deerlake Middle School, there were a total of six complaints against Lawson and several other teachers and staff that sought other employment. The complaints included are similar to the recent complaints involving Lawson. Additionally, during Lawson’s tenure at Kate Sullivan Elementary, there have been eight assistant principals in the past five years.
In 2024, an employee went as far as needing to file a charge with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The complainant reported that Lawson’s objective was to force her to resign
In May 2024, Lawson received a complaint of withholding supports for students with documented learning needs. Upon receiving the complaint, Lawson retaliated against the person who reported the misconduct by lodging her own unsubstantiated claim. The district failed to produce the findings of the original complaint to this investigator.
The district’s previous knowledge of Julie Lawson and her retaliatory behavior and harassment raise concerns about their decision to continue placing Lawson in a leadership role. In fact, there is concern that by not removing her from this role the district encouraged her to retaliatory leadership.
The historical retaliation is repeated in this investigation.
Interference and the Downplaying of Child Abuse
The most egregious action in this entire investigation report does not involve just Lawson but also Sam Hembree (LCS ESE paraprofessional and daughter to Sarah Hembree). Sarah Hembree recently was transferred from district administration to principal of SAIL high school. In November 2025 we published Sarah Hembree’s Department of Children and Families (DCF) investigation report which states that Sarah Hembree should not oversee students after failing to protect.
While we recognize that Sam Hembree is Sarah Hembree’s daughter and they are each their own person, we believe it is relevant information to note that Sarah Hembree was recommended by DCF for her removal, which Superintendent Hanna is aware. This report states that Lawson describes Sarah Hembree as someone Lawson looks up to within the District.
Lawson chose to downplay Sam Hambree’s actions towards a student. Sam Hembree was seen making “forcible contact” with the student’s head. This wasn’t the first incident of abuse either. Sam Hembree was seen hitting the same student with an open hand on the arm just one month prior. Lawson excluded that the event was witnessed and as a result the matter was closed due to lack of evidence. This report includes dated documentation of the event. Twelve days later, Sam Hembree was seen hitting the same student in the head with an open hand.
When the witness told Lawson that she had to report this, Lawson responded with “well not really.” Lawson then attempted to downplay the incident to the investigator by stating that “if I kiss my hand like this and then touch a student’s head, well, someone could see that as child abuse.” Lawson ultimately reported that Cooper only saw Sam Hembree “bop” the student gently. Lawson also attempted to cast doubt on one of the witness reports.
Assistant Superintendent Deana McAllister confirmed that no disciplinary action was taken against Sam Hembree based solely on the information Lawson provided. This current investigation found that Lawson intentionally provided false information designed to downplay the serious allegations during both the previous investigations and the current investigation about underlying events.
The FLCapitalTea team is in discussions around every internal investigation the district states they have performed including internal audits to disciplinary actions. We recently discovered Hanna’s attempt to under-discipline Brett Shively following substantiated harassment claims involving our neighbors. We have evidence of an assistant superintendent confirming no action was taken against Hembree solely based on information provided by Lawson.
Lawson also failed to report these incidents to the parents of the abused student. She reported the parents were notified of the first incident. However, the parents denied that they were made aware until much later. These incidents escalated to the Office of Inspector General which affirmed and confirmed the parent’s experience of the event to be true. This investigation found Lawson had been dishonest.
Our team feels as though Lawson was negligent in her duties, endangering children, and a simple “non-reassigned” is not sufficient for the abuse she allowed under her leadership.
Throughout this report Hembree is documented as failing to maintain honesty. Her dishonesty ranges from telling the investigator she was missing a milestone for her child to failing to honestly report Sam Hembree’s actions.
Political Profiling and Weaponized Trauma
Julie Lawson did not just turn a blind eye to abuse. She also politically profiled our hard-working neighbors.
Lawson’s behavior is described by those interviewed as obsession of political party. She stated she needed to know who to align herself with.
Unfortunately, we see this mentality seeping into many of our interactions with our hard-working neighbors to the point that we hold onto our hatred to our own detriment. Selecting the best, and most qualified people becomes secondary to political affiliation. In this case, Lawson’s pursuit of political allegiance distorted how she viewed her neighbors, causing her to see enemies instead of hardworking members of the community.
This investigation also mentions Lawson’s relationship with Superintendent Rocky Hanna. Our team received these documents some time ago. We discussed publishing them due to the severity of the accusations and not wanting to revictimize Mrs. Lawson. However, after reviewing this investigation and her flippant weaponization of her stated experience, we believe it is a pertinent detail of this investigation and the conditions our hard-working school staff were forced to endure.
According to the previous documents Lawson alleges Hanna sexually assaulted her and then they both began a romantic relationship. Lawson alleges that Hanna retaliated against her when the relationship ended. In 2008 Lawson entered into an agreement with the district to resolve all issues relating to the event.
This affidavit is mentioned in this investigation because Lawson would bring up her relationship with Hanna with other staff members. Many interpreted her statements about it as bragging while some stated that her recollection was to signal she was “untouchable” to bully staff without consequences. When she was awaiting a disciplinary meeting in 2024, she even went as far to tell a staff member that she was confident she would not be disciplined because Hanna raped her.
I want to take a moment here and speak to the impact that actions like this have on survivors of rape. For those that have survived sexual assault or abuse, this type of behavior makes it more difficult for survivors to feel comfortable reporting and speaking out against an abuser.
This is not a flippant topic or something that should be weaponized to avoid disciplinary action. This is real. It is traumatic.
In this instance, we are assuming her allegations are true. However, we believe the abused has become the abuser. She protected the abuser as we saw with the child Sam Hembree hit. She also looks up to Sarah Hembree, who failed to report child abuse, while Lawson herself intimidated staff members.
This investigation details how Lawson was known for “making people quit” and creating a “mean girls” atmosphere within the school’s culture.
Lawson stated to employees she was only getting a “slap on the wrist” as a result of the investigation report. The pattern of the superintendent, how he has allowed her to continue to lead this school, and the assistant superintendent McAllister’s protecting Lawson, we have no reason to doubt her statement. Even the end of the report states that she has not been reappointed within the district so there are no recommendations for further action. Since the nonrenewal decision, other employees have come forward to the investigation firm with additional documentation of the issues raised.
This isn’t a matter of nonrenewal. At this point, Lawson’s actions may constitute criminal conduct. Per Florida statute 39.205, “A person who knowingly and willfully fails to report to the central abuse hotline known or suspected child abuse, abandonment, or neglect, or who knowingly and willfully prevents another person from doing so, commits a felony of the third degree, punishable.” Lawson did not report the incident and she told the employee they don’t have to. Then she downplayed the abuse.
For our superintendent to allow someone to continue to be in a leadership role that has shown such a pattern of neglect, abuse, and hostile work culture is appalling. There is now a pattern of employees who have failed to protect students, and Hanna continues to place them in leadership roles. While she may not be reappointed, she also is not fired and currently there are no known charges against her.
Change starts at the top and accountability starts with leadership. When we allow our leaders to abuse those they are entrusted to protect, we fail the most vulnerable of our communities.
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the right of the poor and needy.” —Proverbs 31:8-9
