Fired Jessamine teacher was previously suspended from Paris school

Nicholasville, Ky.–A recently fired Jessamine County teacher allegedly lied on his hiring application and engaged in inappropriate behavior with students at West Jessamine High School this year, according to a Herald-Leader report. The teacher, Jason Earlywine, had his teaching certification revoked for three years as a result. Earlywine had previously been suspended and reinstated by Paris Independent Schools over similar accusations.

Back in 2011, Earlywine was at Paris Independent Schools and was accused of exchanging 1,758 texts with an underage student. He was also accused of telling inappropriate jokes, discussing sexual topics with students, and holding hands with a female student. Earlywine denied the allegations and said he passed a polygraph test.

Earlywine was indicted in 2012 by a Bourbon County grand jury on a single count of first-degree sexual abuse, but the charges were dismissed by Judge Rob Johnson in 2015. Earlywine was reinstated at Paris Independent Schools after the charges were dismissed. He was later placed on probation for five years and required to take ethics training by the Education Professional Standards Board.

In 2019, he was hired in Jessamine County and accused of more inappropriate behavior. He allegedly:

• Told a student their sister was “hot,”
• Asked a girl wearing a skirt if she had underwear on,
• Told students his preferable age range for a dating partner was 19-39,
• Asked students what their age range for a dating partner was

In addition to the inappropriate behavior, Earlywine was also accused of lying on his application about some qualifications and about his prior suspension . He was fired by Jessamine County in February 2020.

At the time, parents questioned why he was ever hired in the first place, noting that a quick Google search of his name turns up news stories about the dismissed sexual abuse charges.