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Professional perspective:
K-12 School Administrator

Audience: K-12 Administrators in Belton Independent School District

Topic: Legal and Ethical Guide for Managing Employee Misconduct and Discipline

Managing issues of employee misconduct is an unfortunate responsibility of school administrators today. Knowing the proper procedures for addressing misconduct will help create positive learning and work environment where students can thrive, and professionals can excel in their career.

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Interviewee: Kevin Taylor
Title: Principal
Organization: South Belton Middle School

Mr. Kevin Taylor began his career in education as a second and third-grade teacher. During this time, Kevin also balanced serving in the Army National Guard and completed classes for a Master of Education Administration degree at Tarleton State University. Since becoming an administrator in 2002, he has held various positions on elementary, middle, high, and alternative education/discipline campuses. Mr. Taylor has been an administrator at South Belton Middle School since the school opened in the fall of 2011 and became the head principal in August of 2017.

Summary of Interview

Importance of Legal Issue: Employee misconduct has the potential to change the entire culture of a school. To protect the students, employees, and the learning environment, issues of misconduct cannot be ignored. Issues with employee misconduct must be dealt with swiftly to minimize the affect on the student body. There will be an effect on the staff as well and  it is important to maintain open communication lines to maintain trust between administration and teachers.

How does this legal issue impact your work?
Misconduct is something that is certainly my responsibility as a leader to manage and deal with swiftly. There are specific district and state guidelines on employee conduct in schools. These are baseline foundational items that I be aware of when notified of an incident. I also have to manage any investigation or play a part in any district level investigation as required by the district.

Are there certain employee rights that relate to this issue?
Yes, there are absolutely employee rights that relate to this issue. It is important to understand that the employee will use every means to ensure they are treated fairly. Organizations like ATPE and TCTA are most often used in the case of investigations and they are good about walking the employee through the due process portion. Belton ISD has established guidelines to ensure that each employee is provided the right to due process.

Have you attended or provided any training regarding this topic?
Yes. Every year the district publishes the teacher handbook that outlines guidelines for professional conduct that are aligned with state laws. We ensure that this alignment continues, so when procedures change our manuals will as well. These expectations are always highlighted during inservice.

Best Practices:
1. Understand the policies and laws that govern employee conduct
2. Provide professional development to ensure staff is aware of expectations
3. Communicate and seek guidance when needed.

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Organization: Texas Association of School Boards
Resource: Guideline for Responding to Educator Misconduct

This resource outlines steps for dealing with employee misconduct and provides guidance for creating a local plan of action. This guideline  provides administrators with a complete understanding of the State Board of Education Certification, school board, superintendent, and administrator responsibilities.

Some of these responsibilities include:

hiring practices

reporting requirements

confidentiality

dismissal/termination procedures.

Reference:

https://www.tasb.org/services/legal-services/tasb-school-law-esource/personnel/documents/guidelines-for-responding-to-allegations-of-educat.pdf

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Title of Article:
Passing the trash' of predatory teachers would get harder under Abbott proposal

Article Summary:

Texas teachers accused of inappropriate relationships with students often resign prior to getting terminated.

School districts seldom report the misconduct to police officials when teacher resign.

Accused teachers often end up teaching in other school districts.

Gov. Abbott proposed Senate Bill 7 to prevent district from "passing the trash" by failing to report sexual misconduct.

Senate Bill 7 Consequences for teachers and administrators:

Teachers:

Automatic firing

Revocation of teaching license

Loss of pension

Administrators:

$10,000 fine for failure to report within 7 business days

Jail time if an attempt is made to cover up the misconduct.

This article proves the importance of keeping children safe by reporting inappropriate teach-student relationships.

Reference:
Stokes, P. (2018, Feb. 8). Passing the trash' of predatory teachers would get harder under Abbott proposal. Fort Worth Star Telegram. Retrieved from https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/education/article198837289.html

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Title of Article: Seattle Schools Knew These Teachers Abused Kids and Let Them Keep Teaching

Article Summary:

Administrators responding to employee misconduct quickly and appropriately.

This response could include notifying the state of misconduct to prevent the employee from working in other districts.

The lack of administrative action resulted created an operational, financial, strategic, reputational, and compliance risk for the district.

Reference:
Dornfeld, A. (2020, January 23).

Seattle Schools knew these teachers abused kids — and let them keep teaching. KUOW.

Seattle Schools knew these teachers abused kids — and let them keep teaching. Retrieved from https://www.kuow.org/stories/seattle-schools-knew-these-teachers-abused-kids-and-let-them-keep-teaching

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US Const. XIV

Constitutional Law

The Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution protects citizens from being “deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law”.

To ensure due process of law administrators must:

follow procedures prior to disciplining or dismissing an employee.

These requirements include:

notice or deficiencies and the need to improve

notice of intended actions and rationale.

Link:
https://1-next-westlaw-com.easydb.angelo.edu/Link/Document/FullText?findType=L&pubNum=1000546&cite=USCOAMENDXIV&originatingDoc=Ic1d0d1749c1e11d991d0cc6b54f12d4d&refType=LQ&originationContext=document&transitionType=DocumentItem&contextData=(sc.Search)

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Berg v. Berger, 439 U.S. 992 (1978)

Judicial Law

In the case of Berg v. Berger,  is a case involving Ida Berger, a teacher who believed school administrators did not afford her the right to due process prior to terminating her employment.The fact of the case are as follows:

Ms. Bergers exhibited conduct unbecoming of a teacher by:

Making threatening phone calls to administrators and parents

Writing 90 memos exaggerating classroom issues

Impersonating a parent

Calling the police to her classroom without cause

Threatening a parent with a lawsuit

Prior to terminating her employment, school officials took the following actions:

School officials conferenced with the Ms. Berger and her attorney to address matters of concern.

The Supreme Court decision:

The lawsuit was rejected the because the school willingly met with the teacher and her attorney in an attempt to inform the educator and resolve the issue.

Link:
https://1-next-westlaw-com.easydb.angelo.edu/Document/I95b15cc89bf211d9bc61beebb95be672/View/FullText.html?navigationPath=Search%2Fv1%2Fresults%2Fnavigation%2Fi0ad73aa50000017091ef0ac30b0a510a%3FNav%3DCASE%26fragmentIdentifier%3DI95b15cc89bf211d9bc61beebb95be672%26parentRank%3D0%26startIndex%3D1%26contextData%3D%2528sc.Search%2529%26transitionType%3DSearchItem&listSource=Search&listPageSource=16b6eb78fac3f5c5ce206a57abbdac7e&list=ALL&rank=1&sessionScopeId=5e98b6719f9e12d7791643c92ed00659247fce2341d060566d9d54655f5244c3&originationContext=Search%20Result&transitionType=SearchItem&contextData=%28sc.Search%29

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Tex. Edu. Code § 21.156

Statutory Law

Teachers can be discharged or suspended without pay if:

the board of trustees determines good cause for failure to meet accepted standards of conduct.

Link:

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ED/htm/ED.21.htm#21.156

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19 TAC § 247.2

Administrative Law

Texas Educators must follow the code of ethics and standard practices established under this law. In the event that a district employee is investigated for wrongdoing, the investigating administrator must also comply with the code of ethics and standard practices.

Link:

http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/sbecrules/tac/chapter247/ch247.html#247.2

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The BISD Standards of Employee Guidelines of Conduct and Welfare provides explicit expectation standards to which employees must abide by to remain good standing with the district. This document is a reference tool that aides administrators in deciding if a situation requires further action.

Reference:
Belton Independent School District. (2019, Sept. 1) Employee Handbook, BISD Standards of Employee Guidelines of Conduct and Welfare. Retrieved from
https://pol.tasb.org/Policy/Download/164?filename=DH(LOCAL).pdf

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The Texas Administrative Code Standard 1.7 states “the educator shall comply with state regulations, written local school board policies, and other state and federal laws.”

Administrators must comply with laws, policies, and regulations in all areas of their job. Although managing employee misconduct can be frustrating, this ethical standard requires administrators to handle employee misconduct by following legal and reframing from reacting with emotions.

Reference:
Educators' Code of Ethics, 19 Tex. Admin. Code § 247.2

Link:
https://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=R&app=9&p_dir=&p_rloc=&p_tloc=&p_ploc=&pg=1&p_tac=&ti=19&pt=7&ch=247&rl=2

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Book:

How to handle staff misconduct: A practical guide for school principals and supervisors.

This book is a valuable resources that principals can refer to when faced with teacher misconduct. Referencing this content will allow principals learn best practices when confronting teacher misconduct, while learning how to legally resolve the issue.

Reference:
Lawrence, C., and Vachon, M. (2003). How to handle staff misconduct: A practical guide for school principals and supervisors, 2nd ed. Corwin Press.

Link to Purchase Book: https://us.corwin.com/en-us/nam/how-to-handle-staff-misconduct/book225791

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Maintain a thorough understanding of federal, state, and local laws for Texas educators

Understand what conduct can lead to disciplinary action.

Create an environment where students and staff are safe.

Provide professional development to establish behavior expectations

Ensure that all teachers have read and signed the employee handbook.

If misconduct is noticed, communicate with the teacher early and document conversations. If possible, provide suggestions for improvement.

If the behavior is not resolved, take action to dismiss, suspend, or terminate employment.

Do not ignore misconduct. Understand your duty to report allegations involving students.