MAKING CHANGES TO PROTECT CHILDREN

 

By Joey Becerra, Daily Titan, CSU Fullerton | http://bit.ly/wzqaE5

March 19, 2012  ::  The California Senate Republicans and Assembly leaders proposed new legislation to lawmakers Tuesday in Sacramento that would revise state teacher dismissal laws.

The proposed legislation, spearheaded by Senate Republican Leader Bob Huff and Assembly Republican Leader Connie Conway, was drafted in response to a string of allegations of criminal activities against teachers in the Los Angeles County Unified School District (LAUSD).

The most prominent of these allegations involved former Miramonte Elementary school teacher Mark Berndt, 61, who was investigated by police in February for two years of criminal misconduct and charged with 23 counts of lewd conduct against students.

In a joint press release sent out Tuesday by both Huff and Conway’s camps, Huff said the goal of the legislation was to “ensure that a Miramonte-like tragedy never happens again.”

Sarah Luquin, 21, an American studies major, said she felt the Miramonte situation was handled appropriately.

“Initially, I thought that it was really disturbing, and I thought that the action that they took was appropriate just because he has been accused before (of lewd conduct),” said Luquin.

Among the proposed legislation are several revisions that target union contract provisions that make it harder to investigate criminal behavior.

The first change prohibits bargaining agreements that restrict the maintenance of records or use of prior evidence from past accusations in new investigations. The second calls for the removal of a policy referred to as the “four-year rule,” in which union contracts stipulate that four-year-old charges of wrongdoing must be removed from a teacher’s record.

The Los Angeles Unified School District Office of the General Counsel also released a list of suggested reforms for the education code.

Among those changes, laws benefiting teachers rights were also targeted.

At the top of the list of 10 suggested reforms was a change to Education Code Section 44929.21, which would give districts the option of extending the probationary period of granting tenure to teachers from two years to three or even four years.

A major trend among reform suggestions by both Republican lawmakers and the LAUSD was a change in dismissal procedures of teachers who have been accused of and charged with criminal activities.

In a letter sent Feb. 29 by Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to Gov. Jerry Brown, Villaraigosa urged Brown to reevaluate the state’s dismissal policies. Villaraigosa wrote, “Moving to dismiss a teacher triggers what can be a twelve-step process, often lasting several years. This can be mitigated by giving school boards more authority to dismiss teachers when the situation warrants this.”

Villaraigosa also noted that, on average, dismissal proceedings can cost a school district $300,000.

In the proposed reforms by Conway and Huff, the politicians called for the elimination of notice requirements that delay the dismissal process of teachers accused of misconduct.

According to a statement issued at a press conference by Conway, the reforms are all targeted at keeping the best interests of students who attend public schools.

“Every day, we entrust to our local schools our most precious thing in the world, and that is our kids and our grandkids,” said Conway. “That is why it’s so important that we come together today, Republicans and Democrats alike, and pass these reforms. When parents drop their kids off at school, they worry if their children are making the grade. They should not have to worry if their children will be victims of a crime.”

Conway and Huff also suggested in their proposed reforms that, following an administrative hearing, districts should be able to dismiss teachers for disciplinary reasons with no pay.

Barbara Griswold, 26, a history major, said she doesn’t agree with the last clause.

“Essentially, you are innocent until proven guilty,” said Griswold.

According to the press release by Conway and Huff, teachers who have prevailed in the panel hearing or in court will be eligible for the back pay they lost as a result of being dismissed for disciplinary reasons.