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State lawmakers take aim at abusers in the classroom

Delaware Public Media

Teachers that have been accused of misconduct in the classroom or community could lose their educational licenses more easily under a new proposal.

 

 

The bill would allow the Secretary of Education to automatically, but temporarily suspend their license without a hearing if arrested or indicted by a grand jury for a violent felony or a felony involving a child.

 

It also lowers the burden of proof from ‘clear and convincing’ to ‘a preponderance of the evidence,’ meaning a disciplinary board can make a decision based on what the evidence points to, rather than having an overwhelming amount of it.

“There should be two investigations: a criminal investigation and a civil investigation as to whether or not you should remain licensed. Just because you’re not convicted at trial doesn’t mean you didn’t do it," said House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf (D-Rehoboth Beach), the bill's main sponsor.

He says the changes are necessary due to recent instances of child sexual abuse in Delaware schools where teachers resign before their licenses can be suspended.

The state can already suspend or revoke a teacher’s license if they’ve pleaded guilty or no contest to any misdemeanors against children or drug offenses, among others.

 

Anyone acquitted by a jury or has the charges dropped against them currently gets their license reinstated automatically, but the bill would give state Department of Education officials the discretion to make that call.

Any revocation or suspension would also show up on a state database, something Schwartzkopf says helps build a paper trail to prevent potential abusers from shuffling between schools.

 

“If they lose their license here, that should be in a database that shows any other state that this guy goes to apply to, they can run him through there, find out his license was yanked in Delaware and they can take appropriate measures to protect their kids.”

Teachers can petition to reinstate their licenses if they've been found not guilty, complete probation in certain cases, or finish a first offender domestic violence or drug diversion program.

Licenses that have been revoked can be validated again after passing through a state hearing and gaining the Secretary of Education's approval.

The Delaware State Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, didn’t respond to requests for comment.