AP
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The No. 1 reason teachers in the state lose their licenses is sexual impropriety, according to state records from the past
two years.
The Tennessean newspaper reviewed license revocations from the State Board of Education and found that two in five licenses that were
revoked involved sex-related allegations, including inappropriate contact with students.
Out of the total 80 licenses revoked since 2003, 35 were sex-related.
The board passed new rules that could hold administrators accountable for reporting teachers who are accused of sexually inappropriate
behavior. The rules still must be passed by the state attorney general and the Government Operations Committee.
"We're concerned there may be underreporting and that there may be more cases out there that we just haven't been notified of," said Rich
Haglund, an attorney for the board. "And so we wanted to put a few more teeth into the reporting requirement."
Under new proposed rules, adminstrators could lose their licenses if they fail to report teachers who resign after allegations arise, which is
intended to keep teachers from moving to other districts or states.
In about a third of the 35 revoked licenses, teachers lost their licenses after allegations arose in other states.
"The hope is that as superintendents realize more 'the buck stops with me,' they will make sure they're giving good instructions to their
assistants and principals to monitor this kind of thing," Haglund said.
Another proposed rule would restrict teachers who had their licenses revoked for any reason from volunteering or working around children. A
third rule would automatically revoke licenses for teachers who were convicted of certain felonies, such as sex crimes.
Some of the reasons for revoking a license included touching students in a sexual manner, having child pornography, sexual criminal convictions
and fathering a child with a student.
The issue has been a concern in Tennessee following several recent high-profile cases of teachers having inappropriate relationships with
students.
Pamela Rogers, a 28-year-old Warren County teacher, was sentenced in August to nine months in jail for multiple charges of having sexual
intercourse with a 13-year-old student.
Gregory Hall, a Nashville teacher, was arrested in May for showing students pornographic material and fondling a student. There are 59,000
licensed teachers in Tennessee.
http://www.wkrn.com/Global/story.asp?S=4021598&nav=1ugO
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"DUHMAG.COM"
2005
