“It is a problem,” he said. “Maybe new laws will come out of this.” **
August 27, 2007 - The problem is, Washington state already has a law on the books that requires school districts to report teachers suspected of sexual misconduct to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. And a state law that requires school districts to communicate honestly and openly about job candidates.
Despite that, Jennifer Leigh Rice, managed to move to four different school districts where her behavior and performance was questioned.
BETHEL SCHOOL DISTRICT: Hired in September 1998 by the Bethel school district, five months later, they were allegations about her conduct at Spanaway Lake High School.
After five months on the job, the young teacher found herself in a room with the executive director of the Bethel district’s human resources department, the president of the teacher’s union and a district paralegal.They placed her on leave while allegations were investigated.
Rice was told there were allegations that she’d attended a student party where alcohol and marijuana were used, was befriending students outside school hours and may have pursued a romantic relationship with a male student in the Spanish Club she supervised, according to personnel records provided to The News Tribune as part of a public records request.
They did not report their suspicions to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.
They did not report their suspicions to police who are better qualified to investigate.
They did not report their suspicions to other school districts.
They did not report their suspicions to parents.
The principal at Spanaway Lake High later wrote a letter of recommendation for Rice for her job in Tacoma schools.
As for the district investigation, the school district claimed that
Jennifer Rice’s behavior constituted poor judgment and lack of appropriate boundaries, but the district’s investigation found no evidence of sexual misconduct,” Bethel spokesman Mark Wenzel said recently in explaining why Rice was not reported to the state superintendent’s office. [TT - This, despite the fact that they are not qualified investigators and their obligation was to protect children which meant referring the matter to police.]Three weeks after the meeting, Rice was reassigned to be a substitute teacher. She resigned at the end of the year.
THURSTON SCHOOL DISTRICT: Rice was hired in 2001 in another school district where no problems seem to have occurred, but they chose not to renew her contract.
YELM SCHOOL DISTRICT: In 2005, she was hired by the Yelm school district. They called the Bethel district who told them she wouldn't be rehired as high school teacher, but maybe as an elementary school teacher. She served one year. They decided not to rehire her.
TACOMA SCHOOL DISTRICT: They received six letters of recommendation for Rice, including one from the principal of Spanaway Lake High. They hired Rice before they got a response to letters they sent out to previous employers requesting information about whether Rice ever violated sexual misconduct rules while employed with those districts.
In November, Bethel schools confirmed they had signed off on the Washington State Sexual Misconduct Disclosure Release for Rice, meaning there was no finding of sexual misconduct in Bethel’s files. But the Bethel director of human resources added a personal note to have her counterpart at Tacoma call her.
This is where it gets odd.
The director of human resources for Tacoma schools worked as an administrator at Spanaway Lake High School while Rice taught there and knew of her troubles there, but she was not involved in the decision to hire Rice in Tacoma. When McGuire learned Rice had been hired in Tacoma, she brought the teacher’s previous troubles to the attention of her superiors, Albrecht said.
In December, deputy superintendent Ethelda Burke and human resources manager Chantana Yuong sat down with Rice to talk about what they’d learned from Bethel, according to Tacoma records.
They still did not remove her from the classroom.
In April they placed her on administrative leave, pending a review.
In July,they notified her they wouldn't renew her contract.
Police arrested Rice a month later.
** Quote from the Superintendent of the Yelm school district, Ethelda Burke.
Source: Article by Adam Lynn in The Tribune News, Tacoma, Washington.
TT - Link to Jennifer Rice
