June 16, 2008
Protecting (some) convicted teachers
Measures aimed at keeping convicted felons out of New York classrooms are so narrowly drawn they would not automatically boot teachers convicted of bank robbery, arson or even murder.
One bill would apply only to teachers and school administrators convicted of "certain felonies," namely crimes involving physical or sexual abuse of children. (School administrators also would get the axe if convicted of larceny or filing a false instrument.)
A second bill, which has only an Assembly sponsor, was introduced on behalf of the state Department of Education. It would automatically revoke teaching credentials of a teacher convicted of a sex crime that requires listing on the state sex crimes registry.
Under current law, hearings in state prison have been necessary in some cases to determine whether inmates already serving time for abusing children should lose their teaching licenses.
Tenured teachers outside New York City, which has a different disciplinary policy, are entitled to a "3020-A" hearing before they can be disciplined "even if they are convicted of a serious crime or lost his or her professional certification," says the state School Boards Association. According to a survey of its members, such proceedings take:
...an average of 520 days from the date charges are brought to the date a decision is issued, at an average cost of $128,000....Most of that money (approximately 47%) goes to pay for the salary and benefits of the employee who, in most cases, is suspended with pay while charges are pending and the hearing is held. In the case of teachers, another 21% goes to pay the substitute hired to take the place of a suspended teacher.
A separate "Part 83" hearing process by the state Education Department determines whether a teacher should lose his or teaching certification.
Bill supporters acknowledge cases involving teacher sex offenders "make up only a tiny fraction" of school district disciplinary hearings. So short-circuiting the hearing process will not save enormous amount of money statewide. What about a teacher's due process rights? A teacher convicted of a felony already has had his or her day in court.
To pursue this line of reasoning, why shouldn't a teacher convicted of any felony automatically be yanked from the classroom? Here's a mind game: name a felony that should not automatically disqualify someone from a teaching job. Suggestions via email (info@empirecenter.org) are welcome.
State legislators and school board members automatically lose their jobs if convicted of a felony. Attorneys convicted of felonies are disbarred.
The state School Boards Association seeks a broader overhaul of the "3020-A" disciplinary process. A third bill would expedite the selection of hearing officers; authorize dismal of personnel convicted of felonies involving sex crimes; require the tenured teacher (or administrator) to cooperate in disciplinary investigations; and limit the amount of time an individual can be suspended without pay.
A fourth measure would prohibit teachers or other school personnel from engaging in sexual relations with any student, regardless of age. (Seventeen is the current legal age of consent.) For more on that bill, here and here.
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