Paid administrative leave isn't a punishment; it's a paid vacation.
And taxpayers are the ones picking up the tab.
May 26, 2007 - ABC24 reports that NINE school employees in Knox county remain on paid administrative leave as the school year ends. The employees include a teacher accused of stuffing a rag in a student's mouth and another who allegedly taped a student's legs.
Six of the employees were placed on leave within the last three weeks.
Reportedly, the school system completed investigations in five cases and made referrals to state child services. All nine employees will continue receiving their salaries while their cases remain open.
They quote the Knox County teacher union president who says many teachers are accused of incidents that turn out to be unfounded.
TT - That's not true. One of the reasons why this blog does not carry news stories about teachers accused of inappropriate student discipline is that so many of the cases can't be followed up. It doesn't mean that they are not true or that the incidents didn't happen. It means they aren't prosecutable.
The result is the teacher is rewarded for that slap or the inappropriate classroom discipline by receiving a brief suspension that doesn't appear in the public record. Or the teacher is reprimanded by a letter in their personnel file that also doesn't appear in any public record. The public only knows if the state teacher licensing agency chooses to place educator discipline records online.
Tennessee does in the form of board meeting action items.
In April, ten teachers were disciplined. No reasons given. In January, seven were disciplined. Four were given suspensions; three had their licenses revoked, two permanently. No reasons given.
Every instance of inappropriate classroom conduct should be public record. It should constitute public acknowledgement of the responsibility of schools to protect children.
They don't have to provide embarrassing details. They only need to indicate whether it was undesirable classroom conduct or a licensing issue.
