Teacher ethics code revising

Changes soon could be in store for rules governing Georgia teachers.

The Georgia Professional Standards Commission is revising its Code of Ethics for Educators, a set of standards for all state-certified school employees.

A committee of educators and PSC members is submitting recommendations for the updated ethics code, which is expected to be in place by July 2009.

“We want to make sure everyone understands what the expectations are,” said Gary Walker, director of the PSC’s Educator Ethics Division. “We’re all playing by the same rules.”

Several teachers’ organizations are helping revise the code, last updated in 2005.

The Georgia Association of Educators is asking the PSC to allow sanctions against employee peer-on-peer harassment.

“It’s important that all employees can go to work in an atmosphere free of intimidations and harassment,” said association president Jeff Hubbard.

Another proposal by the group would modify grading policies, including preventing educators from being forced to change a grade.

The ethics code has 10 sets of standards, including committing criminal and other violations outside the classroom, along with treatment of students, misusing funds and other in-school infractions. Educators breaking the rules are subject to a range of sanctions —- up to having their licenses revoked.

According to October 2007 records from the PSC, Atlanta Public Schools employed at least 70 certified educators who had listed sanctions since 2003.

The district, which has about 4,500 certified employees, employed 14 educators with sanctions for abusing students, the highest total in the state. This includes child abuse, inappropriate relationships and other related offenses.

Other districts, such as Gwinnett County, reported fewer sanctions. The school system employs about 12,000 teachers and had at least 20 certified employees with sanctions.

Sanctioned educators could retain jobs for several reasons. Educators with some infractions, for example, could be moved to non-teaching positions. Other violations may not be serious enough to warrant dismissal.

Fulton County Schools spokeswoman Susan Hale said the district considers the PSC’s findings when determining whether to fire an employee.

“None of the allegations resulted in severe disciplinary action by the [Georgia Professional Standards Commission] or loss of teaching certification,” she said.

Jay Dillon, spokesman for Cobb County Schools, said of the 38 employees sanctioned while employed since 2003, 33 received “relatively minor” sanctions from the PSC.

Separately, six received and served their PSC suspensions before Cobb hired them, and two work for a charter school and are not Cobb employees, though they are listed in the Cobb report, for a total of 46.

Atlanta Public Schools spokesman Joe Manguno said sanctions are taken “very seriously.”

“In many instances, we’re the ones who conducted the investigation, took appropriate disciplinary action and then made the referral to the PSC.”

Of the 70 educators listed, he said, 53 are still employed by APS.

“None of the violations would have prevented us from placing them in their current positions,” Manguno said.

The number of teachers sanctioned in each district depends on a variety of factors.

Walker said the background and experience of schools’ investigators can influence the numbers.

Not all complaints investigated by schools are turned over to the PSC.

The more severe infractions are required to be reported, but at least a dozen of them are left up to school systems to decide. These include DUIs, misdemeanors and abandonment of employee contracts.

In Clayton County, district spokesman Charles White said all violations are reported to the PSC.

For Atlanta Public Schools, violations not required to be reported are handled on a case-by-case basis.

Earl Holliday, assistant professor of educational leadership at Kennesaw State University, said schools with more sanctioned teachers should consider evaluating their hiring practices.

“It has a lot to do with how they screen applicants and the high expectations they set for staff,” Holliday said.

Hiring teachers with questionable character or those who frequently switch schools should be avoided, he said. “There are quality candidates out there. You just have to look for them.”

All Georgia educators are required to have background checks before they are hired.

Atlanta spokesman Manguno said prospective employees who require certification are checked for ethics violations, and in “certain instances” more extensive background checks are conducted that include nationwide ethics violations.

The district also rejects teachers who have not been renewed by APS and other systems for nonperformance.

Clayton County evaluates each individual’s sanctions before hiring.

“We do not just wholesale hire everyone,” spokesman White said.

Georgia law allows any citizen to file complaints to school systems or directly to the PSC. Walker estimated about 65 percent of complaints are turned over to PSC investigators.

If PSC commissioners decide to hand down a sanction after reviewing an investigator’s report, educators have some recourse to fight the decision. They can request a hearing or negotiate a settlement if approved by the PSC.

Waiting for a hearing can be slow.

Jill Hay, general counsel for the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, said the process often takes at least a year.

The non-union teachers’ group is pushing for a timetable to be inserted into the revised code of ethics, but it might prove difficult with the backlog of cases.

Hay said pending cases that drag out can cause problems if a teacher applies for another job, she added.

“We think it’s better for not only the educator but the community in general,” she said.

Data specialist Matt Dempsey contributed to this article.

ON THE INTERNET

A searchable database of sanctions reported since 2003 by school and school district can be viewed at: http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2008/08/27/educators-sanctions-database.html

 EDUCATOR SANCTIONS
Number of educators listed with the PSC in October 2007 as working for districts and having sanctions reported since 2003*:
DeKalb County ............90
Atlanta Public Schools....70
Clayton County............69
Cobb County ..............46
Muscogee County ..........45
Fulton County ............29
Henry County..............29
*Some violations could have occurred before employment. Actual totals for districts could be higher than shown. Open cases and violations not required to be reported are not included. Statistics also can vary depending on each school system's investigators and number of educators employed.