At the Schoolhouse Gate

Disciplined Teacher Database

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune posted today a national list of teachers who have been disciplined by their state certification boards. The list contains the names of over 20,000 teachers dating back 20 years who have blemishes on their teaching certifications. Possible infractions included "serious misconduct and relatively minor issues." The list contains major issues such as sexual misconduct or criminal convictions as well as small financial issues like failure to repay student loans. The list (pictured below with names blurred) only contains information for the state in which the infraction occurred, but provides no other detail on the incidents. Further, the list has been found to contain flaws by the Herald-Tribune staff (which of course begs the question of why they posted it in the first place).

Where to begin ...

Generally, I am not against the idea of a nationwide list of teachers that have committed sexual misconduct. There has been a lot of press lately about the sexual misconduct of teachers in schools and there have been calls to develop some sort of list. The idea, in principle, is acceptable with the proper procedures in place. But, this list leaves a lot to be desired. First, lumping in teachers that have student loan issues with teachers that committed sexual misconduct poses a serious problem to a named teacher's reputation interests. Otherwise qualified teachers may now find themselves under an unnecessary cloud of suspicion. Second, as stated in the AP article, releasing the names may violate some state confidentiality laws. Third, this type of list will seriously hamper the negotiating power of state disciplinary boards and likely increase litigation to keep disciplinary marks off teaching records. Fourth, even the publishers of the list acknowledge serious flaws across states. I am sure there is a fifth, sixth, and seventh reason that publishing this list is not a good idea as well. Unless and until we can develop a concise list of only proven teacher sexual misconduct cases, publishing thousands of names is likely to do far more harm than good.

Never, ever praise Columbine

A teacher in Wisconsin has been arrested for allegedly posting an anonymous blog comment praising the 1999 Columbine (CO) High School shootings. The police captain views the teacher's comments as a legitimate threat.

The Full Monty

A part-time music teacher at Lemon Bay (FL) High School is probably going to lose his job for being in a local community theater production. Apparently the district doesn't like the fact that he's showing his bottom for a few seconds as part of the play, The Full Monty. Each side weighs in:

"We're not trying to come down hard on this guy and inhibit his art or something. But if you're to be coming around 15- and 16-year-old girls and guys, there has to be some sort of standard or accountability for your life. You're free to make other choices and I do believe he was given other options." - Mike Riley, district public information officer

"I am not going to stop myself from doing something I love to do, and I have a career path that I want to take and it's definitely not teaching high school." - Jason Brenner, teacher