State bans coach from teaching

Accused of misconduct with female students, he now coaches basketball at a university

A former Broward high school coach and educator is no longer allowed to teach in any Florida public school, after a state investigation concluded he acted inappropriately with multiple female students.

Jason Gilliam-Alexander, 48, who is now an assistant basketball coach at Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens, taught language arts and served as junior varsity basketball coach at Nova High in Davie from 2017 to 2019. While at Nova, he was accused by the school district and later the state of having improper boundaries with students, including trying to kiss one girl on the lips against her will.

A review by the state Education Practices Commission recently found that Gilliam-Alexander failed to protect students from conditions harmful to their education, mental health and physical safety. His teaching license was revoked and he will be ineligible to reapply, according to a letter dated Nov. 24. He did not contest the action, state records show.

Reached by phone Tuesday, Gilliam-Alexander wouldn’t say whether the allegations were true or false.

“I have no idea about all of that,” he said. “I have a new career, and I resigned from that position.”

When further pressed for details, he said, “I’m not interested in having this conversation, with all due respect.”

The School Board approved the resignation of Gilliam-Alexander, who made $41,688, on Oct. 2, 2019. The office of Chief Communications Officer Kathy Koch didn’t respond to emails on Tuesday.

A state report lists a number of allegations against Gilliam-Alexander, including:

■ He attempted to kiss a student on the lips against her will while the two were alone together.

■ He asked for female students’ phone numbers and social media account information. He took one student’s phone and entered his name and phone number into it, the report alleges.

■ During a conversation about exercise, he told a student she “had the best figure of the 9th grade girls.”

■ He engaged in personal conversations with students, including ones related to his troubled relationship with his wife.

He is now in his third season as an assistant basketball coach at Florida Memorial, where he is also listed as an adjunct professor.

According to his bio, Gilliam-Alexander, who is “best known as the Protégé, is one of the top defensive coaches and recruiters” in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, a league for small colleges and universities.

“Gilliam-Alexander knows the blueprint for success, and is ready, willing, and able to share

it with the players he coaches. During his first two full seasons, Gilliam-Alexander helped FMU reach its first Sun Conference tournament in three years and become a top-ranked defensive and rebounding team,” his bio states.

A spokeswoman for Florida Memorial University couldn’t be reached Tuesday.