Teacher Discipline in Oregon Pt I

TOP STORY

If you read no other story this weekend, this is the one to read.

Feb 17, 2008 - In Part I of a two-part series on teachers in sex-related cases, Oregonian reporters Amy Husua, Melissa Navas, and Bill Graves report on " Schools let sex abuse cases slide: Predatory teachers - Records show a pattern of missed red flags and ignored complaints from students"

It takes an average of nearly 16 months, and as long as three years, to discipline teachers. They have a backlog of nearly 300 complaints against teachers. Sexual misconduct with a child ranked as the most common reason the state disciplined an educator. But,

The commission has an additional mission to rehabilitate problem teachers, and it gives second chances to those who have admitted to sex-related offenses, such as propositioning students for sex, videotaping students' underwear or watching pornography at school.

And,

An examination of those cases by The Oregonian, combined with hundreds of interviews and thousands of pages of documents obtained under state public records law, shows that state and local officials repeatedly missed opportunities to protect students. The Oregonian tracked a 10-year period -- 1997 to 2007 -- because such cases take years to wind through the state's teacher discipline system.

Records show that school leaders missed red flags or ignored complaints from parents, students and staff, allowing some educators to engage in years of sexual misconduct, ranging from inappropriate touching to rape.

The documents reveal that many school administrators concealed alleged sexual misconduct from hiring districts, allowing educators to resign and move on to jobs elsewhere working with children.

Excellent article. Great resources.

OREGONIAN ONLINE database of Oregon teachers who have been disciplined.
OREGONIAN ONLINE - Confidential Settlement Agreements *****
*** Including the Attorney General direction to the Teacher Standards and Practices Commissions ordering them to release the agreements.

PAST COVERAGE - Admitting abuse but free to teach
PAST COVERAGE - News stories about misconduct by specific teachers.

TT - Links to Oregon Discipline Records THEIR DATABASE is better than accessing state records. They link to discipline decisions and to news stories.