The Albuquerque Tribune reports that the state Department of Education is working to speed up the process of revoking teaching licenses. The process started earlier this year and "to date, the department has revoked the licenses of 17 educators and suspended three others.." Ten of the 17 involved sex crimes, pornography and sexual relationships with students. Compare that effort with previous efforts.
The cases investigated by the department's Ethics Bureau have increased significantly since 2004 when there were only five revocations and one suspension. In 2005, there were eight revocations and four suspensions. The department has plans to add an in-house investigator to handle the increasing caseload instead of hiring private investigators.New Mexico, unlike many states, does not require districts to report allegations to the state Department of Education. A bill that would require principals and superintendents to report their investigations of teacher misconduct to the state will be introduced in January.
Currently, the department's Ethics Bureau is investigating 104 cases of teacher misconduct, CdeBaca said. "Those include 27 cases carried over from 2005."
The New Mexico Department of Education site is a model of efficiency and completeness. Educator Ethics is a prominent link on first page and the Ethics Bureau Services pages are comprehensive. The only complaint might be that the Ethics Newsletter is dated April 2006. It seems to be the only one ever written.
