Kemp teacher arrested on charges out of Oklahoma
KEMP, Texas - A teacher in Kaufman County is accused of behaving inappropriately with a student.
Police said Joseph Palmer sent sexually explicit messages to a 17-year-old girl last spring when he worked at the Yale school district, which is about 50 miles west of Tulsa in Oklahoma.
Palmer was hired over the summer to work in the Kemp school district. The district said it just learned about the Oklahoma charges this week.
"Kemp ISD thoroughly screened the employee in question prior to hiring him - as we check all our employees - and found his record to be clear based on information available at the time. That employee is now on administrative leave as we continue the process of concluding our investigation and further administrative action," said Kemp ISD Superintendent Phil Edwards.
The district also said student safety is a top priority and it is cooperating with authorities who are investigating the case.