July 14th, 2015                     
Table of Contents
General Information
Complaints: How the PSC Investigates
Sanctions
Standard 1: Legal Compliance
Standard 2: Conduct with Students
Standard 4: Honesty
Standard 10: Professionalism
Certification/Educator Preparation (edTPA)
Georgia Professional Standards Commission Meeting
July 2015

The Georgia Professional Standards Commission held its regular monthly meeting on July 9, 2015. Many ethical issues and cases were discussed with the following being of note:

General Information     

 

Interestingly noted at this meeting of the PSC was the high volume of complaints submitted against paraprofessionals. Even though paraprofessionals are generally at-will employees, they do hold certificates issued to them by the PSC and thus remain under the Commission's purview.

Complaints: How the PSC Investigates    


It is important for educators to remember that a complaint to the PSC does not necessarily mean that the Commission will choose to investigate. In total, 151 certified educators were reported to the PSC in June, 2015. All complaints are first reviewed by the PSC and its staff to determine if a complaint merits an investigation. When the PSC receives a complaint, it has three options: investigate, remand the complaint to the local school system, or automatically issue a finding of "no probable cause" (which dismisses the case). Of the 151 complaints, the PSC chose to investigate 29. Nine of the complaints were remanded to the local school system and findings of "no probable cause" were issued for 39 of them. Not enough evidence existed to determine how to proceed on the remaining 74 complaints. Those complaints will go back to the PSC's staff who will gather more information. The staff members will then report back to the PSC at its next meeting (September).

 

There was a lengthy discussion by members of the PSC regarding two separate complaints and how the PSC should proceed. Each complaint contained statements throughout such as "I heard," "I was told," or "I assumed." At the end of these discussions, the PSC chose not to investigate either of the complaints in question. In short, for the PSC to investigate a complaint, members of the Commission would like to see concrete assertions of direct knowledge that unethical conduct has occurred.

Sanctions     


When sanctioning a certificate, the PSC has certain options. An educator whose license was revoked several years ago for drug issues (a violation of Standard 1 of the COE) petitioned the PSC for reapplication for a Georgia teaching license. The PSC denied the reapplication petition, but also engaged in a discussion of whether a sanction of "permanent revocation" is appropriate in this matter. (Ten years ago, the PSC found probable cause that the educator engaged in drug trafficking while at school.) As was noted, "permanent revocation" currently is not an option as a sanction. The PSC cannot unilaterally create any new type of sanction. New sanctions must come from the Legislature, not the PSC.

Standard 1: Legal Compliance  


Per Standard 1 of the COE, commission of certain crimes constitutes unethical conduct. Past criminal conduct is often an issue for initial applicants for certification. Several applicants for Georgia teaching licenses were discussed due to their criminal records. 

 

When analyzing a criminal past, the PSC will discuss, among others, the following factors: the age of the educator at the time of the crime, the nature of the crime (felony or misdemeanor), the time that has lapsed since the crime, and the educator's conduct since the crime. Utilizing these factors, an educator was issued a certificate with a reprimand, even though there was a money laundering crime in her past. In issuing the license with a reprimand, the PSC noted that the applicant was young at the time of the crime, the crime was over 20 years old, she had no other criminal history since the crime, and she had a teaching license issued to her in another state.

 

As noted above, an educator whose license was revoked over ten years ago for drug trafficking will not be allowed to petition the PSC for reapplication at this time. In denying the petition for reapplication, members of the PSC expressed their concern that the drug trafficking occurred while at school.

Standard 2: Conduct with Students   


Standard 2 of the COE mandates that all educators must maintain professional relationships with students. This forbids physically abusing children. Two cases regarding an allegation of child abuse by an educator were discussed at the meeting with two different results.

 

In the first case, it was alleged that a paraprofessional became physically aggressive with a second grade student after the child spit in the paraprofessional's face. In that case, the educator pulled the child's hair and scratched her on her face (to the point of drawing blood). The Department of Family and Children's Services investigated the paraprofessional and the district terminated her employment. The PSC found probable cause to believe that Standard 2 was violated and revoked the paraprofessional's certificate.

 

In the second case, the PSC investigated an educator who became physically aggressive with a thirteen- year-old child. The investigation revealed that the child behaved aggressively and the educator pushed the child against a wall. The incident was videotaped, resulting in the educator's resignation from the district. Moreover, the educator was charged with the crime of simple battery. The PSC found probable cause that Standard 2 was violated and issued a 90-day suspension of the educator's certificate.

Standard 4: Honesty   


Standard 4 of the COE governs dishonest conduct. During the course of professional practice, educators are expected to maintain honesty. Dishonest conduct includes falsifying documents submitted to the district in the course of employment. Affirmative proof of falsifying medical leave forms will result in an investigation and sanction by the PSC. Conversation among the PSC indicates that the Commission would like to see a competent investigation into these matters by the school district before making a report regarding unethical conduct. The PSC does not function as an investigative body for employment matters.

Standard 10: Professionalism    


Standard 10 mandates that educators "demonstrate conduct that follows generally recognized professional standards." It has long been the practice of the PSC to point to Standard 10 when sanctioning administrators for having an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate, regardless of whether the relationship manifested itself while at school. At this meeting, the PSC issued a finding of no probable cause on an allegation that an administrator engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate. Text messages between the supervisor and the subordinate revealed a "bantering" relationship and not one of an inappropriate context. Some members of the PSC expressed regret at this determination, as the supervisor/subordinate relationship is generally not one of equals. A majority of members of the PSC, though, indicated that they were not willing to extend the ethics rule regarding the administrator/teacher relationship to minor behavior.

Certification/Educator Preparation (edTPA)      


At this meeting, the PSC set the minimum score required for passing the edTPA. edTPA will affect aspiring educators and many educator preparation providers. A minimum score of 35 was established by the PSC. The Commission will re-evaluate the minimum score in three years. edTPA will be effective for those licensure candidates who begin student teaching during Fall 2015. A candidate who receives less than a 35 will be allowed to re-take either all of the assessment or parts of it. edTPA must be taken for program completion, but must be passed for certification. All student teaching candidates in Georgia must take edTPA. This includes candidates who student teach in Georgia but attend a university in another state.

Matthew Pence - Staff Attorney



          


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