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3rd grade students access pornography at Jacksonville elementary school

JACKSONVILLE, Ark. (KTHV) - An alleged loophole in a Jacksonville elementary school's firewall allowed children the opportunity to watch pornographic videos in the classroom.

JACKSONVILLE, Ark. (KTHV) - An alleged loophole in a Jacksonville elementary school's firewall allowed children the opportunity to watch pornographic videos in the classroom.

Parents in Jacksonville are furious not only that their 3rd grade kids were exposed to pornography, but also that the school district didn't tell them. Justin Woodall and his wife Nikki said their 8-year-old daughter was exposed to porn in her classroom at Tolleson Elementary.

Leaders at the elementary school told us the situation was handled according to district standards.

"The school is not the appropriate place for children to be exposed to that type of material. Let alone children in the 3rd grade," said Woodall.

They said they were made aware of the situation weeks later by a concerned staff member.

"I would have appreciated the honesty and the transparency from the school, letting me know that something happened," he said.

Woodall said he would have still been upset about the situation, but would have been more understanding.

"They knew about it right away," Woodall's wife said. "They chose immediately not to notify us.”

What was supposed to be research for a Black History Month project quickly became a lesson in human anatomy.

"This is XXX, pornographic, adult material," the mother explained. "This is not appropriate for the school, it's not appropriate for any classroom, this is not appropriate for an 8-year-old child.”

Jacksonville-North Pulaski School District said two male students found a loophole on Google Chrome in their Chromebooks. They accessed the pornography while another student looked at it as well.

In a statement, Superintendent Tony Wood said the boys' parents were notified, disciplined appropriately, and that "no female students were involved."

After they learned what happened, the Woodall's say they asked their daughter if she saw the boys' laptops.

"What she thinks she saw, and what she actually saw are two different things," she said. "She thinks she saw two men hugging. That's not what she saw.”

Woodall said she would have liked to have been able to have “the talk” with her daughter before she was exposed to sexual content.

JNPSD said the State's Department of Information Systems has been made aware and is working to resolve the issue.

But, the Woodalls say that's not good enough.

"The school, the district, the state should have had these firewalls in place before my child or any other child got ahold of the laptops to begin with," Woodall said.

The parents said they have asked to be able to sit in their daughter's classroom and monitor what happens. They’ve also requested their child be allowed to transfer to another school.

Both requests, they say, were declined.

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