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My topic is morals and ethical behavior of educators. My professional perspective on moral character as a future campus administrator is any person who is in charge of monitoring students during instructional hours understands their obligations to be an model character for students to look up with their actions, behaviors and words.  A person who is incharge of a child’s well-being must understand and appreciate that they are being trusted to make responsible decisions and must keep students safe.  The audience of this moral issue is teachers and parents.  Parents need to be aware that schools are hiring trustworthy, responsible individuals to watch their children during the day at school.  Teachers need to be aware that their actions are a reflection of the organization they represent and needs to match the district's mission and value statements.  This issue is important to me because as a parent, teacher and future administrator I want to know as  a parent that my child is being taken care of while they are at school by staff that have my child’s best interest at the forefront of everything they do.  As a teacher I want to work with teachers who do  the right thing by our students and who are trustworthy coworkers. As a future administrator I want to hire educators that uphold my district's mission and vision as well as my campus mission and vision statement. This topic is important to me because it seems that there has been alot of public scrutiny surrounding educations moral character.  This scrutiny has been dissected due to a variety of situations such as school safety, unethicial teacher conduct and Texas legislature allowing districts to hire non-certified personal to teach children in public institutions.

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The Department of Education is the federal agency that oversees all state education agencies. The Department of Education is responsible for creating and passing United States Constitutional Laws that all states must follow. The Texas Administrative Code is part of the Texas Constitution that creates laws that the State of Texas Education system must follow and must be in compliance with the U.S. Constitution.The state of Texas Department of Education is  is governed by Texas Education Agency (TEA). The TEA is a state agency whose policy guidelines state, “ensure educators and applicants are morally fit and worthy to instruct or to supervise the youth of the state” (TEA, 2017).  The TEA is responsible for investigating claims made against teachers about their behaviors/conduct being unfit to monitor students by districts or individual schools.
Reference Citation: SBEC. (2017). Disciplinary Rules and Guidelines. https://tea.texas.gov/texas- educators/investigations/disciplinary-rules-and-guidelines

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Disciplinary Rules and Guidelines | Texas Education Agency

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View the rules established by the State Board for Educator Certification below.

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Padlet Slide #3 Identify the federal and state constitutional laws that align with your topic

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Padlet Slide #3 Identify the federal and state constitutional laws that align with your topic

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Constitutional Law: According to the National Education Associations’ second principle, “ the educator shall exert every effort to raise professional standards, to promote a climate that encourages the exercise of professional judgment” (National Education Association, 1975)

State Law: The state of texas requires individuals to report ethical misconduct, “an educator employed by or seeking employment by the school district, district of innovation, charter school, other charter entity, service center, or shared services arrangement has a criminal record and the school district, district of innovation, charter school, other charter entity, service center, or shared services arrangement obtained information about the educator's criminal record by a means other than the criminal history clearinghouse” (Section 411.0845, 2009).  The law includes:

a commitment to the student as an educator

a commitment to the profession as an educator

Teachers must remember they are responsible to themselves, their profession and those that they serve within the profession of education.  Violations to the commitment of education are punishable by fine, imprisionment, and restriction/revoking of teaching certification.

The consequences of not reporting unethical behavior or not following ethical guidelines in education can include: loss of trust by stakeholders, revision of ethics policies, increased mandated  ethics/moral character training, the loss of an individual's teaching license, monetary penalties, loss of employment, and state/federal prosecution by the court system including being incarcerated.
Reference citation: National Education Association (1975) Code of Ethics for Educators: Principle 2 Commitment to the Profession, https://www.nea.org/resource-library/code-ethics-educators
Reference citation: Criminal History Clearinghouse, Government Code §411.0845 (2009).  https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/GV/htm/GV.411.htm#411.0845

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GOVERNMENT CODE CHAPTER 411. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY OF THE STATE OF TEXAS

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GOVERNMENT CODE TITLE 4. EXECUTIVE BRANCH SUBTITLE B. LAW ENFORCEMENT AND PUBLIC PROTECTION CHAPTER 411. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY OF THE STATE OF TEXAS SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS AND ADMINISTRATION Sec. 411.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: (1) "Commission" means the Public Safety Commission. (2) "Department" means the Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas.

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Padlet #4 Identify the one statue and one administrative law that align with your topic.

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Padlet #4 Identify the one statue and one administrative law that align with your topic.

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According to the Texas Ethics Commision, the commission may enforce federal ethics and create rules to be followed as necessary. (National Conference of State Legislature, 2021).

administer ethics laws

enforce ethics laws

publish manuals for education entities to follow

provide trainings

establish filing deadlines

create a public database for reports and complaints to be filed at

review filing for compliance

According to the According to the State Board of Educator Certification is is their job to enforce state ethics laws.  The SBEC purpose statement says, “The Texas educator, in maintaining the dignity of the profession, shall respect and obey the law, demonstrate personal integrity, and exemplify honesty and good moral character” (SBEC  §247.1., 2016).

professional conduct

professional practices

professional performance

Consequences of ethical violations include cease and desist order to stop a violation,  monetary penalty of $5,000, and incarceration. Allegations of discrimination are investigated and verified by an institution are mandated to resolve the issues, adapt anti-harassment polices, increase discrimination training and create a non discrimination enviroment for all students.. Consequences of ethical violations found by the SBEC include: required the educator to withdraw from their education program they are enrolled in, place a hold on an educators teaching certificate, issuing a reprimand that may or may not appear on the teachers teaching certificates, suspend am educators certificate, suspend or revoke an educators teaching certificate for any length of time.
Reference citation: National Conference of State Legislatures, Texas Ethics Commision, § 571.029 § 571.061, (2021). https://www.ncsl.org/research/ethics/50-state-chart-state-ethics-commissions-powers-a.aspx

Reference citation: State Board of Educator Certification, §247.1. (2016). https://tea.texas.gov/texas-educators/investigations/educators-code-of-ethics)

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Padlet #5 Identify the common or case laws that align with your topic.

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Padlet #5 Identify the common or case laws that align with your topic.

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In the case of Gilbert GOMEZ, Appellant v. TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY, Educator Certification and Standards Division, and Robert Scott, Commissioner of Education, in his Official Capacity, Appellees Mr. Gomez was involved in an incident of indecent exposure in a public setting. It was found that Mr. Gomez held a educator certification and then was taken to court by the state of Texas because of his moral behavior of the previous incident he was involved in. Despite no charges were filed by the original establishment the court found that Mr. Gomez’s behavior made him unfit to monitor or supervise students and his teaching certificate was revoked.  Gilbert GOMEZ, Appellant v. TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY (2011)

morally unfit to supervise students

morally unfit to instruct students

unfit to hold a teaching certificate

This court case impact my topic of moral/ethical behavior of educators because moral/ethical behavior of educators is not just limited to the professional setting. Educators are expected to maintain moral/ethical behavior in all situations public and private. There are serious consequences for a lapse in judgement.  Educators need to be mindful of all situations they find themselves in and remain clear headed in their decision making to avoid monumental consequences.
Reference Citation: (Gilbert GOMEZ, Appellant v. TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY, Educator Certification and Standards Division, and Robert Scott, Commissioner of Education, in his Official Capacity, Appellees, 2011)

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Padlet #7 Local Administrative Law/Policy/Rule:

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Padlet #7 Local Administrative Law/Policy/Rule:

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Judson’s local policy in the employee handbook states, “An employee shall notify his or her principal or immediate supervisor within three calendar days of any arrest, indictment, conviction, no contest or guilty plea, or other adjudication of the employee for any felony, any offense involving moral turpitude, and any of the other offenses as indicated below…” (Board Policy Manual, 2019).

contact immediate supervisor

notify them of any legal action against them within the specitic time period

This policy was created to give educators who find themselves in a personal legal dilemma in which their moral judgment is in question to have steps to follow.  This protocol is outlined in the handbook for teachers so they are not terminated for following the incorrect steps their contract sets forth.  This policy helps the district take any corrective action before the situation becomes an uncontrollable one.  This policy also sets up the correct legal steps for the district, school and employee for their own protection.
Reference Citation: Judson Independent School District. (2019) Board Policy Manual.

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The code of ethics that I am held to as an educator is that I must always present myself in a professional manner without make a decision that would allow stakeholders to doubt my judgment of decisions professionally. It is important that I take into consideration how a decision would impact those around me including my place of employment, my coworkers and my students/families. The Texas educator shall comply with standard practices and ethical conduct toward students, professional colleagues, school officials, parents, and members of the community and shall safeguard academic freedom. The Texas educator, in maintaining the dignity of the profession, shall respect and obey the law, demonstrate personal integrity, and exemplify honesty and good moral character. The Educators Code of Ethics states, “The Texas educator, in exemplifying ethical relations with colleagues, shall extend just and equitable treatment to all members of the profession. The Texas educator, in accepting a position of public trust, shall measure success by the progress of each student toward realization of his or her potential as an effective citizen. The Texas educator, in fulfilling responsibilities in the community, shall cooperate with parents and others to improve the public schools of the community. This chapter shall apply to educators and candidates for certification.” (Educators Code of Ethics, 2018).
Reference citation: Educators Code of Ethics  §247.1 (2018). https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/2016_10_ch247-two.pdf

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When an educator makes a poor moral decision especially when the decision is made outside of the educational environment it can impact the organization because the poor decision is a poor reflection of what the district represents.

A moral/ethical mistake can break the stakeholders of the school/district trust, have them question what type of employees the district/school employees and begin to question other decisions made that are in the best interest of students.

The educator has the right to due process meaning they have the right to a fair trial in which a jury/judge hears the facts of the case and then makes a legal informed decision ( U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 2) :
Reference Citation: U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 2)

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Padlet Slide #10 Personal Connection to the Legal and Ethical Standards:

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Padlet Slide #10 Personal Connection to the Legal and Ethical Standards:

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My personal connection this moral/ethical standard is that upon accepting any teaching position in every district that I have been employed with there has always been a compenent of ethics and moral character involved during the hiring process and new hire orientation.  These contexts have allowed me to understand moral and ethical law has to be followed and that there are serious consequences to breaking the educator code of conduct. Moral/ethics in education is not just saying and doing the right things that the law dictates but it is also making the right decisions that impact yourself, coworkers, administration, students, families and the school district.  Moral/Ethics are engrained in every aspect of education from  professionalism, upholding district policies, to proper communication.  Morals and ethics are standards that as a future administrator and a current teacher are standards that I hold for myself and collegues.  My goals as an educator in any role I assume is that I uphold my district's expectiaton of  ethics and morals. A second goal is that I always uphold myself to the highest standard in behavior, professionalism and communication in education.  My third goal is to always communication what moral and ethical standards I expect from my collegues.  This goals have helped shape me into a honest, trusting  and dependable educator and future leader.

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Padlet #6 Identify the federal regulation or mandate that align with your topic.

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Padlet #6 Identify the federal regulation or mandate that align with your topic.

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According to Judson Employee Handbook, “Educators shall comply with standard practices and ethical conduct toward students, professional colleagues, school officials, parents, and members of the community and shall safeguard academic freedom.” (Board Policy Manual, 2021).

perform all duties within the state law, district policy, ethical standards

perform all duties within the federal law, district policy, ethical standards

recognize the rights of all stakeholders

work cooperatively with others in the best interest of the school district

follow the correct chain of command for complaints within the district

This mandate from the Judson Independent School District clearly states that the district expects all educators to act morally and ethically responsible within the confines of the education realm and outside in an educators personal life. All behaviors toward individuals i.e. students, other education professionals and members of the community should be treated in a respectful manner that honors the school districts expectations.  This policy reinforces what the state board of educator certification expects from Texas educators.  The district policy is in line with the state of Texas. This policy leaves no room for interpretation.  The expectations of the school district have been made clear.
Reference Citation: Judson Independent School District. (2021) Board Policy Manual.

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Padlet Slide #11 Bulleted list of Recommendations / Best Practices for Compliance

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Padlet Slide #11 Bulleted list of Recommendations / Best Practices for Compliance

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Summary: Ethics and morals are everyone's responsibility but they start with you.

Be the best role model to your students, coworkers and families.

Remember to always behave as if someone is watching you.

Do what is right. Your decisions impact you and those around you.

Do not bring shame to yourself and your educational unit you represent.

Think before you act.

If you are unsure of something, ask an administrator or consult your union representative.