Wednesday, January 30, 2008
A change in state law had contributed to the increase, an official said.
COLUMBUS (AP) — The number of teachers referred to the state for possible misconduct, including cases of sex abuse, jumped about 30 percent from 2005 to 2007, in part the result of beefed up reporting requirements, the Department of Education said Monday.
The education department says it received 6,235 referrals last year, up from 4,753 referrals in 2005, according to figures obtained by The Associated Press through a public records’ request.
The state reviews all referrals but could not immediately say Monday how many were fully investigated.
Education department spokeswoman Karla Carruthers says one reason for the increase is a change in state law that took effect last spring.
One portion of the law requires that districts report misconduct to the state. The number of those reports rose from 102 in 2006 to 156 last year.
The law also requires teachers to undergo state background checks each time they apply for or renew their licenses. Teachers must renew their licenses every five years.
Previously, only new teachers or those transferred from one district to another had to undergo such a check. The state pushed for such a law for years.
The increase in referrals “doesn’t mean there are more teachers involved in misconduct,” Carruthers said. “It just means we’re hearing about more cases, which is evidence that the law is working.”
She added that the state saw an additional 5,000 requests for license renewal in 2006, which could also explain why misconduct referrals went up.
Lawmakers last fall passed even tougher rules for spotting and disciplining teacher misconduct following an investigation by The Columbus Dispatch that found many teachers kept their jobs after harassing or abusing children.
A 50-state investigation by The Associated Press found that similar conditions exist across the country.
The AP analysis found that Ohio’s school board acted on 419 misconduct cases from 2001 through 2005, of which about one third involved sexual misconduct.
The state’s largest teachers’ union said Monday it believes some districts may be over-reporting data to the state as they try to understand the new law.
The Ohio Education Association said some districts may be reporting all cases where a teacher left a district, even if it had nothing to do with misconduct.
The education department has been clear with districts about what the law requires, Carruthers said.
Shortly after the new law was enacted in March, the department sent a letter to districts explaining their responsibilities.
“The law was specifically designed to require reporting to ODE after the education entity has reached a conclusion about the allegations,” said the letter from Adrian Allison, then the department’s director of professional conduct.
“In other words, you should only report to ODE after you have investigated the allegations,” the letter said.