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Walcott Pledges No Tolerance After Another Teacher Arrested

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - New York City's schools chancellor is speaking out after yet another city teacher was arrested, accused of sexual abuse.

WCBS 880's Rich Lamb On The Story

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15 school employees have been arrested in just three months.

In this latest case, Esran Boothe, a Brooklyn teacher arrested for squeezing a 16-year-old female student's buttocks, has been removed from the classroom and reassigned.

"We'll wait for the arrest to go through the court process, but at the same time, I'm not going to tolerate that. I mean, I've been very clear over the last several weeks as far as, 'Keep your hands off our children.' 'Don't make improper remarks.'," chancellor Dennis Walcott said Wednesday. "Remember, these are students. They're not your friends. They're not your buddies from the street."

Walcott says he has no tolerance whatsoever for improper touching, improper relationships, improper language, or actions that are unprofessional.

He says anyone who does it will be punished, removed from the classroom, and, ideally, removed from the system.

The chancellor added that a supermajority of the Department of Education staff is working on behalf of the students and doing an outstanding job.

What do you have to say about the rash of arrests of NYC school employees? Sound off in the comments section below!

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