TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Ethics Law Too Strict, Schools Boss Says

ADVERTISEMENT

By RONNIE BLAIR

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 19, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - A new law designed to strengthen penalties for misconduct by school employees is raising concerns among Pasco County School District officials who worry the law may go too far, ensnaring otherwise good employees who committed crimes in the distant past.

"The intent of the law is great," Superintendent Heather Fiorentino said. "The intent of the law is to protect children, and everyone is in favor of that.

"But I want to make sure we aren't punishing people who were silly in high school or college and now are upstanding citizens."

The Ethics in Education Act, signed into law by Gov. Charlie Crist on June 10, among other things prohibits school districts from concealing the misconduct of fired employees and causes school employees who commit certain felonies to lose retirement benefits.

The provision that concerns Pasco school officials, though, states that teachers, administrators and other school employees who have direct contact with children would lose their certification and jobs if they have criminal records related to a long list of potential offenses.

The criminal offense could have happened last week, last year, three decades ago or "back to the beginning of time," as Fiorentino puts it.

"It could have happened when they were 16 years old, and they are 46 today," she said.

For example, she said, a teacher who was arrested for streaking in college could be fired, regardless of whether the teacher's record since then is unblemished.

"I understand where they were trying to go with that," Fiorentino said. "They've gone past that."

State Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, a co-sponsor of the legislation, disagreed with that interpretation. He said the ethics act specifies it is dealing with serious crimes. The act wouldn't prevent people from becoming teachers because of a minor offense, such as streaking, committed years ago, he said.

He said the act came about because of the "unfortunate rising tide of misconduct by some - and I emphasize some - teachers in our state."

"We send our children to school to learn, but our No. 1 expectation is when they get on the bus, when they cross the threshold of their school, they will be safe," said Gaetz, a former schools superintendent in Okaloosa County.

That means there's a higher standard for educators than there might be for people in other occupations, he said.

"I'm not suggesting the law is flawless, but I am suggesting it was overdue," Gaetz said.

The act lists about 50 criminal violations that would cause school employees to lose their jobs. Some are directly related to crimes against children, such as sexual activity with minors, child abuse, child neglect and battery on a minor.

Other offenses include indecent exposure, dealing in stolen property, voyeurism, resisting arrest with violence, aggravated assault, recruiting someone to join a street gang and possession of contraband in a juvenile detention facility.

Most of the crimes on the list are felonies, but a few are misdemeanors that involve crimes against minors.

School board attorney Dennis Alfonso said the law is "well-intended" and in some ways probably is welcomed by the superintendent and school board because it itemizes which offenses are considered problematic.

The retroactive nature of the law, though, makes it possible that teachers could lose certification "for an act performed prior to certification being given to them," he said.

With about 10,000 employees in the school district, it's almost certain that some of them have "baggage" that now could come back to haunt them, Alfonso said.

"What's troublesome to me is some of it could be fairly minor and very remote in time," he said.

The law also doesn't appear to leave any leeway to examine extenuating circumstances in a particular case, Alfonso said.

In addition to school districts, the law applies to charter schools and to private schools that accept school-choice scholarships from the state.

The act requires each school board to adopt standards of ethical conduct and provide training for instructional personnel and school administrators. The deadline for implementation is July 1.

Fiorentino said there are still questions about implementation, and she is hoping the Department of Education will provide a blanket policy so all 67 school districts are doing the same thing.

Superintendents and school board members could have their salaries withheld if they knowingly failed to report misconduct.

"It's a law that has pretty sharp teeth," Alfonso said. "It's got quite a bite as far as the penalty in not complying."

Reporter Ronnie Blair can be reached at (813) 948-4218 or rblair@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT