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After Shooting Charge, Boston Schools Head Questions Employee Discipline

The acting superintendent of Boston Public Schools on Tuesday questioned whether the system has high enough employee discipline standards to meet basic expectations about protecting students.

That's in response to a report that shows the system followed the required procedures to investigate complaints about a former English High School staff member who's now charged with trying to murder a student.

Shaun Harrison, 55, also faces charges including cocaine trafficking and marijuana distribution. He was fired after his March 4 arrest and is now being held on bail.

"I’ve directed that a complete external and independent review of our district’s policies and protocols related to employee discipline be undertaken," Interim Superintendent John McDonough said in a statement released along with the report Tuesday. "While our internal investigation appears to have found that proper protocols were followed, I remain unconvinced that our standards are high enough to meet the basic expectations of the students and families we serve."

The BPS report found that Harrison was formally disciplined three times during his employment by the school system. The report also found that comments Harrison directed toward students in 2012 regarding drug use were investigated at the time but "never substantiated."

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