Report: Teacher misconduct code missed a step

COLUMBUS (AP) — A new code of conduct has been written for Ohio’s educators, but it was done without notification to the public or media, a violation of state law, a newspaper reported Sunday.

A draft report of the code from the Education Standards Board makes clear that teachers in Ohio’s schools should not engage in criminal behavior, or have inappropriate relationships with students, use drugs, or use alcohol at school events, The Columbus Dispatch reported.

The code also requires educators to refrain from falsifying criminal histories, ignoring abuse reporting laws and harassing colleagues, the newspaper said.

It’s the first time those offenses have been spelled out in a code, although teachers currently can lose their licenses for such behavior. Six of the 17 members of the board met twice in a Columbus City Schools facility last month, the newspaper said.

“This code of conduct is not needed for the vast majority of teachers,” said state Sen. Joy Padgett, a Coshocton Republican and member of the standards board. “It’s needed for ones that cross the line.”

The full standards board will vote on the code in January, and the State Board of Education is expected to review it in February.

Its creation was required by a law passed in response to a Dispatch investigation published in October that pointed out flaws in the state’s educator-discipline system.

The Ohio Department of Education press secretary said an oversight is to blame for the private meetings where the code was written, the Dispatch reported. From now on, the public is invited to weigh in, both in meetings that will be announced and on the board’s Web site.