# data[].attributes.body
Gyhhhjj

# data[].attributes.body
National Education Association

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Always Address False Allegations of Improper Conduct With Students

Dave Arnold

Other than a child's family, no other people are as close to children than school employees.

While this is an honor and a privilege, it comes with great responsibility and risk.

Why risk? Other than parents, no other group of people is accused of child abuse and molestation more often than school employees. And I do stress the word "accused." Fortunately for all involved, the majority of accusations are false.

Still, once someone has pointed their finger at you as a molester, the label is hard to shake. You have been branded, it seems, and no matter if proven innocent the public will remember the accusation. This is why school employees should take precautions against improper conduct with students. and defend themselves with no reserve against false charges.

A Damaged Reputation

While I was president of my local education support professionals (ESP) Association in Brownstown, Illinois, one of our bus drivers was falsely accused of child abuse.

During the investigation by the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), he made a huge mistake by not taking the charge serious. He brushed it off and made little effort to prove his innocence. His case was helped by his rock-solid reputation and spotless record of 40-some years. He kept his job, but that meticulous reputation he worked hard to develop over four decades now has a crack. And that is what some people will remember.

All accusations need to be defended vigorously. At the 2008 NEA ESP Conference in Baltimore, Maryland, UniServ Director Andres Becerra, from New Mexico, led a session titled, "Practical Advice for School Employees about Avoiding False Allegations of Improper Conduct with Students." He presented a video displaying proper and improper conduct between school employees and students.

Know the Laws

Children's protection laws may differ from one state to another. To help members in my state, the Illinois Education Association (IEA) publishes, "Ten Things You Should Know About the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS)." They are:

1. All school employees are mandated reporters and could be found guilty of a misdemeanor if they suspect a child has been abused or neglected and fail to report to DCFS.
2. DCFS must investigate every allegation of abuse reported to the agency and must do so within strict time frames.
3. An employee accused of abuse should never be interviewed by DCFS without an Association representative present.
4. DCFS allegations may also result in a disciplinary investigation by the school, a criminal investigation by police, a civil suit by the parents and be reported to the press.
5. DCFS will issue an "Indicated" finding if there is merely credible evidence of abuse and will issue an "Unfounded" report only where there is no credible evidence of abuse.
6. The employee has 60 days from the date of the Indicated letter to file an appeal.
7. An employee given an Indicated finding can appeal that determination and receive a hearing where he or she can present evidence and confront accusers who are over age 14. This hearing can be reviewed in court.
8. The school employer may choose to take no action against the employee even if DCFS issues an Indicated finding or the school may choose to discipline even after an Unfounded report is issued.
9. The Regional Superintendent will be notified of an Indicated report and can begin proceedings to revoke the teaching certificate.
10. An Indicated finding will stay on the state central registry for a minimum of 5 years and will be disclosed to potential future employers who are responsible for children's welfare.

Public Judgment

The Becerra session focused on keeping our guard up and not allowing ourselves to stumble into a precarious situation where we might get accused of improper conduct.

Unfortunately, when allegations are made against a school employee -- from thievery to sexual harrassment -- the public will usually still doubt us even when proven innocent. In the folder that Andres handed out, there was a quote from Joseph Hall: "A reputation once broken may possibly be repaired, but the world will always keep its eyes on the spot where the crack was."

Still, we should not view DCFS with fear or disrespect. Their job is similar to ours: we are working for the good of the children. This responsibility is accompanied by much joy and some risk.

(Dave Arnold, a member of the Illinois Education Association, is a custodian at Brownstown Elementary School in Southern Illinois. He can be contacted at darnoldjanitor@yahoo.com.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NEA or its affiliates.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Dave Arnold Other than a child's family, no other people are as close to children than school employees. While this is an honor and a privilege, it comes with great responsibility and risk. Why risk? Other than parents, no other group of people is accused of child abuse and molestation more often than school employees.

# data[].attributes.body
This website provides definitions and examples of Title IX violations.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Definitions and Examples of Title IX Violations | Ventura College

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Gender Discrimination Gender Discrimination is defined as the following by Title IX:

# data[].attributes.body
This youtube video breaks down Tort Laws and includes helpful illustrations which correlate to each specific Tort law.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Center for Innovation in Legal Education

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Episode 1.2: An Overview of Tort Law – Intentional Torts, Negligence, and Strict Liability

# data[].attributes.body
This article discusses the different types of Tort Laws and how they could impact an educator. Each individual law is broken down in a way which is easy to understand.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A " tort" is some kind of wrongful act that causes harm to someone else. This definition covers a wide range of actions, and the legal field of torts is split up into many different subcategories. One of the ways torts are split up is by the mental state of the person that does the wrongdoing; for instance, torts often are caused by someone's negligence. But when the person that acts wrongly actually intends to perform the action, it becomes what is known as an "intentional tort."

The easiest example of an intentional tort is a punch to the face, what is referred to as "battery." In that case, the actor intended to make a fist and slam it into his victims face, and the actor also intended to harm his victim. However, the person who performs an intentional tort need not intend the harm. For example, if you surprise someone with an unstable heart condition, and the fright causes that person to have a heart attack, you commit an intentional tort, even if you did not intend to scare that person into a heart attack.
Common Intentional Torts
Intentional torts are wrongful acts done on purpose. Since many of these acts also may be charged as crimes, you may notice some similarities. For instance, the family of a murder victim may sue the perpetrator (whether or not they are convicted of the crime) for wrongful death. The following are some of the more common intentional tort claims.
Battery
Battery is the legal term for hitting someone, or otherwise touching them in an offensive manner (such as the case of sexual battery), which comes from the verb "to batter." This covers a surprising range of activities, including sending projectiles into someone else's body, as in firing a gun. Keep in mind that battery also is the term used for a criminal charge for a similar act, often charged alongside assault.
Assault
An assault is an attempted battery, or threatening injury when no battery takes place. If someone points a gun at you, causing fear of immediate danger, it could be claimed as an assault.
False Imprisonment
The technical definition of false imprisonment is "confinement without legal authority." Generally, no one is allowed to restrict another person's movement against her will. There are two major exceptions to this. Police generally have authority to detain people they reasonably suspect of crimes. The other exception is called the "shopkeeper's privilege," which allows shopkeepers to keep people they suspect of shoplifting for a reasonable amount of time.
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
In order to prove a claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress, a plaintiff has to prove that someone else engaged in extreme or outrageous conduct, with the intent of frightening someone else, and caused severe emotional distress or bodily harm. These claims are very difficult to prove in court.
Fraud
Fraud is the legal term for lying to someone. In order to succeed in a suit for fraud, plaintiffs generally have to prove that the speaker knew that he was saying something false, that the other person would believe him, that the other person would rely on that information, and that the other person would be harmed by relying on this information. Fraud also may be charged as a crime.
Defamation
Defamation is when someone knowingly says something false about someone else, and that lie causes harm. It includes both written (traditionally, libel) and spoken (traditionally, slander) words.
Invasion of Privacy
The exact nature of invasion of privacy varies by state, but there are generally four types of invasions of privacy:

Invasion of solitude, in which someone interferes with someone else's right to be left alone;

Public disclosure of private facts;

False light, in which someone publishes not true, but not defamatory facts about someone else; and

Appropriation, which is the unauthorized use of someone else's likeness for profit.

Trespass
Trespass comes in two forms: trespass to land, and trespass to chattel, or personal property. In either case, trespass means using the property without permission of the owner.
Conversion
Conversion is when someone takes someone else's property and "converts" it to their own. In the criminal world, conversion is known as theft.
Get Legal Help with Your Intentional Tort Claim
If someone's intentional acts caused you injury, you may have a valid legal claim against them. But how do you find out if you'd be eligible to receive damages for your injuries? The best way is to speak with a local personal injury attorney who can evaluate the facts of your case and provide personalized legal advice.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A " tort" is some kind of wrongful act that causes harm to someone else. This definition covers a wide range of actions, and the legal field of torts is split up into many different subcategories.

# data[].attributes.body
This article explains teacher tort laws by providing various scenarios and analyzing which laws pertain to each element in the scenario.