Claire Heddles
Claire has been a reporter in Jacksonville since August of 2021. She was previously the local host of NPR's Morning Edition at WUOT in Knoxville, Tennessee. During her time in East Tennessee, her coverage of the COVID pandemic earned a Public Media Journalists’ Association award for investigative reporting. You can reach Claire at (904) 250-0926, claire@jaxtoday.org or on Twitter @ClaireHeddles.
Featured image for “Duval School Board to hire Fort Lauderdale law firm in Douglas Anderson scandal”
April 26, 2023

Duval School Board to hire Fort Lauderdale law firm in Douglas Anderson scandal

The board is hiring an outside law firm, which moves legal discussions outside the public eye and into meetings protected…

Featured image for “State threatens to slash Duval superintendent’s salary”
April 25, 2023

State threatens to slash Duval superintendent’s salary

Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. chastised the district for what he called a failure to report incidents of teacher misconduct…

Featured image for “Supporters rally for Duval Schools superintendent”
Supporters of Duval Schools Superintendent Diana Greene rally outside school district headquarters on Monday, April 24, 2023.
April 25, 2023

Supporters rally for Duval Schools superintendent

More than 50 people rallied over fears that Diana Greene could be ousted as superintendent over the scandal at Douglas…

Featured image for “MAY VOTER GUIDE | Jacksonville mayor ”
April 20, 2023

MAY VOTER GUIDE | Jacksonville mayor 

Donna Deegan and Daniel Davis are running for Jacksonville mayor in the May 16, 2023, election.…

Featured image for “Records detail years of misconduct by Douglas Anderson teacher”
Douglas Anderson School of the Arts
April 20, 2023

Records detail years of misconduct by Douglas Anderson teacher

The School Board Chair is convening a special meeting after records show other substantiated complaints against teacher Jeffrey Clayton.…

Featured image for “Duval Schools reverses trans restroom policy, no longer discourages ‘outing’ students in new LGBTQ+ support guide ”
The former guide (left) was replaced with new guidance on the district's website.
April 18, 2023

Duval Schools reverses trans restroom policy, no longer discourages ‘outing’ students in new LGBTQ+ support guide 

Students in Duval County Public Schools now must use restrooms and lockers in line with their sex assigned at birth…

Featured image for “Douglas Anderson investigation widens”
April 17, 2023

Douglas Anderson investigation widens

Police could interview as many as 140 students as an investigation into teacher misconduct continues to unfold at Douglas Anderson…

Featured image for “Facing 2 lawsuit threats, Duval Schools to hire outside attorney in Douglas Anderson scandal”
Douglas Anderson School of the Arts
April 12, 2023

Facing 2 lawsuit threats, Duval Schools to hire outside attorney in Douglas Anderson scandal

Duval has received notice from two law firms about potential lawsuits over misconduct allegations at Douglas Anderson School of the…

Featured image for “Duval Schools face 20% vacancy in media specialists, the only staff who can approve books ”
Mandarin Middle School is one of 67 schools without a certified media specialist.
April 5, 2023

Duval Schools face 20% vacancy in media specialists, the only staff who can approve books 

School librarians are a rarity in Duval, and 1-in-5 of the few remaining positions are vacant as the district faces…

Featured image for “EXPLORE: Duval Schools rejected these 34 books under Florida’s new laws”
March 28, 2023

EXPLORE: Duval Schools rejected these 34 books under Florida’s new laws

The district says the books “would not comply with new legislation or were not appropriate for elementary aged children.”…

Featured image for “How Duval Schools’ book debate wound up on the floor of Congress”
March 26, 2023

How Duval Schools’ book debate wound up on the floor of Congress

House Democrats pointed to Duval County as a cautionary tale in its opposition to a federal Parents Bill of Rights.…

Featured image for “Jacksonville approves $20 million for new UF campus”
March 15, 2023

Jacksonville approves $20 million for new UF campus

City Council voted 16-1 to kick in the first $20 million toward a health and financial technology campus Downtown.…

Featured image for “Duval Schools pushes back against DeSantis on schoolbooks”
March 14, 2023

Duval Schools pushes back against DeSantis on schoolbooks

The district disputes the governor’s contention that it tried to make the state look bad by pulling books from shelves.…

Featured image for “Duval Schools book-review supervisor, who called gay characters ‘contrary to the design of humanity,’ is resigning”
Parents rallied ahead of a December school board meeting over the district's months long review of books from the Essential Voices classroom library collection.
March 8, 2023

Duval Schools book-review supervisor, who called gay characters ‘contrary to the design of humanity,’ is resigning

The supervisor’s departure comes as Duval Schools has received national scrutiny for its book review process.…

Featured image for “Unlike GOP donor Kent Stermon, most of JSO’s ‘Sheriff’s Circle’ barely used special access ”
Claire Heddles, Jacksonville Today
March 5, 2023

Unlike GOP donor Kent Stermon, most of JSO’s ‘Sheriff’s Circle’ barely used special access 

All used the special badge access far less frequently than Kent Stermon — the influential Republican donor who died last…

Featured image for “UNF students soundly oppose slashing diversity programs”
March 2, 2023

UNF students soundly oppose slashing diversity programs

A student government poll found that the vast majority of students oppose Gov. Ron DeSantis’ efforts to eliminate diversity, equity…

Featured image for “UNF students confront university president during walkout”
February 24, 2023

UNF students confront university president during walkout

College and university students around Florida walked out Thursday to support diversity, equity and inclusion programming.…

Featured image for “VOTER QUIZ | Which mayoral candidate agrees with you?”
Election Day is March 21.
February 14, 2023

VOTER QUIZ | Which mayoral candidate agrees with you?

Take the Jacksonville Today mayoral match quiz to see which candidate agrees with you the most…

Featured image for “Most Florida school districts aren’t requiring teachers to hide classroom libraries. Duval is.”
The Duval County Public Schools administration building, with a bronze statue of children reading in front of it. | Claire Heddles, Jacksonville Today
February 7, 2023

Most Florida school districts aren’t requiring teachers to hide classroom libraries. Duval is.

Duval Schools says media specialists have reviewed about 2,000 of the 1.6 million titles in the district.…

Featured image for “Duval Schools tells teachers to ‘cover or store’ books”
January 27, 2023

Duval Schools tells teachers to ‘cover or store’ books

In a video obtained by WJCT News, the district’s chief academic officer tells teachers to pull books from classrooms until…

Featured image for “Republican donor Kent Stermon had JSO access for nearly a decade as part of “the sheriff’s circle””
U.S. Representative John Rutherford (right) was the first sheriff to grant Republican donor Kent Stermon badge access to JSO buildings.
January 19, 2023

Republican donor Kent Stermon had JSO access for nearly a decade as part of “the sheriff’s circle”

Kent Stermon, the donor who was under investigation when he died, was issued 5 separate badges giving him JSO access,…

Featured image for “Florida Ed Board OKs school book rules, rejects trans student protections and applauds ‘anti-woke’ state colleges ”
The State Board of Education, travels to sites around the state for its monthly meetings and met in Nassau County Wednesday. | Claire Heddles, Jacksonville Today
January 18, 2023

Florida Ed Board OKs school book rules, rejects trans student protections and applauds ‘anti-woke’ state colleges 

The State Board of Education signed off on measures in alignment with the priorities of Governor Ron DeSantis.…

Featured image for “5 issues that Jax-area lawmakers might tackle this Florida legislative session”
Rep. Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, was sworn in as Speaker of the Florida House on November 22, 2022.
January 10, 2023

5 issues that Jax-area lawmakers might tackle this Florida legislative session

The Florida Legislature has a Northeast Florida House speaker for the first time in two decades. Here are 5 issues…

Featured image for “Mayor Curry’s ‘resign-to-run’ idea looks doomed”
Mayor Lenny Curry delivers his budget message on July 21, 2022.
January 3, 2023

Mayor Curry’s ‘resign-to-run’ idea looks doomed

It looks like Jacksonville City Council members don’t want to give up their positions when seeking another public office. Mayor…