Ballot Measures in Oregon

ON THE BALLOT

November 1, 20 8 - On the ballot in Oregon, Measure 60: Would tie teachers' pay to their "classroom performance." Classroom performance is not defined in the proposal. It would also mandate that the "most qualified" teachers be retained under employment, replacing seniority as a major consideration. A similar measure in 2000 was Measure 20 that was defeated 65-35.
- Information on defenders and opponents and their donors can be found at ballotpedia.org

Measure 64: Would block public employee unions from using the money they collect through payroll deductions for political purposes.

OPPOSED Major donor opposed to both measures: $4.1 million from the Oregon Education Association. The $4.1 million does not include the cost of their campaign ads.
Source: The Oregonian, Oct. 6. article

Irrigon, OREGON

October 29, 2008 - Forrest McKinnis, 31, was indicted on theft and 43 counts of official misconduct Monday after having allegedly stolen $1,000 in textbooks and then selling them on eBay. Theft is a felony.

McKinnis was placed on administrative leave in September after the Morrow County School District discovered that textbooks stored in a closet were being sold on the Web site. He was arrested September 17.

A program director at Morrow Education Center, McKinnis coached boys' basketball at Heppner High School for five years and was scheduled to coach the Riverside High School girls' basketball team this winter.

McKinnis was a former former Educator of the Year. If he is convicted, McKinnis could lose his Oregon teaching license. He will be arraigned on Nov. 6.
Full Name: Forrest Dean McKinnis
Morrow County
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The Morrow Education Center is for “at-risk” students. The center serves as the alternative program for Morrow and Umatilla School Districts. They can 75 enroll students who are referred by district administrators.

Cleveland, TEXAS

Students say she was a role model. Let's hope not.

August 17, 2008 - Laurie Lewis, 38, a Cleveland High School theatre teacher and Student Council sponsor, was arrested August 13 in Houston on misdemeanor prostitution charges.

Kerry Cowart, the superintendent of Cleveland ISD said he spoke to Lewis on Friday afternoon and confirmed the allegations. Cowart said that when he asked if she was arrested for prostitution, Lewis admitted it was true.

Lewis was immediately placed on paid administrative leave pending resolution of the charges. Arraignment is scheduled in Harris County Criminal Court 2 on August 20.
Full Name: Laurie Anne Lewis

ABC13: Police took Lewis into custody after they say she offered to have sex with an undercover HPD vice officer for $300 when the two met up in a room at the Four Seasons hotel. ABC13 also reported: "A source close to the investigation tells Eyewitness News Lewis, who went by the name of Victoria, advertised on a web site called BackPage.com. "

Cleveland Advocate: (August 17) The arrest was part of an ongoing undercover operation. Since Lewis’ arrest is part of a continuing investigation, the offense report regarding her arrest has not been made public.
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TT - If things don't work out, she might still be able to teach in Oregon.
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THOSE DETAILS August 18 - Police say they initially made contact with Lewis in an escort service’s chat room.

“We opened up a discussion with her in the chat room (and) she agreed in the discussion for sex for money. She was asked to meet the detectives at that location, a specific room number, and when she entered the room the deal was done,” said Captain Bruce Williams with the HPD.

August 19 -Lewis, according to KVUE.com, worked for the escort service and went by the name "Victoria."

RESIGNED August 19 - Lewis resigned.

OREGON

ONLINE RESOURCE aaaaa

The Teacher's Standards and Practices Commission of Oregon maintains online records of teacher disciplinary actions taken against teachers' licenses. The actions date back to 1997.

The site can sometimes be slow. The Commission takes the time to explain their ethical standards and their methods. Good organization.

Rated 5 out of 5 for accessibility, clarity, completeness and public accountability.

Ontario, OREGON

August 14, 2008 - Joseph Garner, 42, an Ontario High School social sciences teacher, was arrested Wednesday and charged with seven counts of online sexual corruption of a child in the second degree after being caught in an Internet sting. He is scheduled to face a grand jury this morning.

Prosecutors say Garner began talking to what he believed was a 13-year-old girl via MySpace. He was talking, however, to a sexual predator decoy. The conversations began in May.

Garner resigned his position. He has a wife and three children.
Full Name: Joseph Tracy Garner
Malheur County
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SCHOOL INFO:
Google Map
Ontario High School rates a 3 (with 10 highest) at GreatSchools.net
Based on poor academic performance.
The school has 780 students in grades 7-9

The school district rates a 2 at GreatSchools.net
The school population is 2810 in 7 schools.
Of the seven schools in the district, two rate 1 and none rate above 4.
For this poor performance, they spend $8,529 per student, which, oddly, is less than the $10,852 state average. (We say oddly, because 70% of the students in the district are eligible for a free or reduced-price lunch program, which is an indication of chronic poverty. In other states, the usual pattern is to see increased spending for such schools.)

Demographics of the district school population are 52% Hispanic and 43% White. The median household income in the city is $33,010, compared to a statewide average of $47,396. (The national average is $49,149.)
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INDICTED August 15 - Garner was indicted on seven counts of online sexual corruption of a child in the second degree Thursday morning. After an arraignment, he was released his own recognizance.

Garner must contact a counselor weekly; he cannot access or use computers, computer equipment or technology with Internet capabilities; and he cannot have any contact with minors except his own children. A pre-plea conference was scheduled for September 11. Garner’s plea hearing is set for September 19.

Comment at the news story: As a teacher, I am disgusted that people like this tarnish our profession. As a parent, I am irate and disgusted that there are people trying to defend this act of his. As a former student of this man's, I am sick to my stomach!I hope they throw the book at him.

Hammond, OREGON

August 13, 2008 - Jeremiah Scott, 26, a teacher at the North Coast Christian School, was arrested, accused of having sex with a 15-year-old student.

He is charged with eight counts of third-degree rape, a felony, and one count each of third-degree sodomy, a felony, contributing to the sexual delinquency of a minor and sexual misconduct.

"We're looking to see if other young girls had similar experiences with Mr. Scott," Brown said. "That's going to be interesting, because the victim's family wonders what kind of supervision their daughter's been getting from the school."

Pacific County continues to investigate the case and is expected to charge Scott with two counts in connection with the case.
Full Name: Jeremiah Gunner Scott
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Clatsop County. North Coast Christian School is a private school with 104 students. Source: GreatSchools.net
Google Map Source: GreatSchools.net
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LEGAL NOTE: (from article) Third-degree rape is not a Measure 11 offense, which would require mandatory sentencing. The charge was third-degree rape because his alleged victim was 15 years old and sex was consensual, officials said. Oregon law states that sex of any sort with 12- or 13-year-old victims is second-degree rape and sex with victims younger than 12 is first-degree rape, both Measure 11 crimes.
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ARRAIGNMENT August 28 - Scott was arraigned Wednesday on eight counts of third-degree rape and one count of third-degree sodomy, all felonies.

His attorney asked that Scott be allowed to travel to Washington, where he might face related charges - the alleged victim was from Pacific County ."Does he have something pending across the river as well?" the judge n asked."Not at this point, but it's very possible," the attorney replied.

A resolution conference is scheduled for Oct. 29.

Klamath Falls, OREGON

Oct 19, 2007 - Barbara Trotta, 38, a special education teacher at Mazama High School, was arrested, accused of distributing controlled substances to at least three students. She is being held on charges of delivery of a controlled substance to a minor, delivery of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school and endangering the welfare of a minor.

Authorities say Trotta gave students prescription pain pills and allegedly excused at least one student from class and allowed that student to use her personal vehicle to pick up additional drugs.

A student brought it to the attention of the police.

GUILTY PLEA & SENTENCING July 22, 2008 - Trotta pleaded guilty in a Klamath County court Monday to a charge of delivering the painkiller Vicodin to a child, and no contest to three counts of using a minor in a drug offense. She also pleaded no contest to official misconduct, and had 12 other counts dismissed as part of a plea bargain. She was sentenced to 300 days in jail - not prison.

Eugene, OREGON

The conviction carries an automatic revocation of her teaching license.

Because of jail overcrowding, she most likely will serve no more than 10 days of the 60-day sentence.

June 6, 2008 - Sarah Bridges, 24, a substitute teacher in the Eugene School District, was arrested on accusations of third-degree rape, sodomy and sexual abuse for an alleged off-campus sexual encounter with a middle school male student earlier this year.

The arrest followed a complaint made earlier in the day by the school district that Bridges engaged in sexual activity with the student off-campus in March. Police did not identify the school where she taught or the age of the victim.
Full Name: Sarah Jayne Bridges

School officials said Bridges taught at all four high schools in the district this year in addition to the middle school. She had been a substitute since September 2006.

June 9 - No age was given for the student, but kval 13 reports that the since all in the third degree, meaning police allege the crime involved a child who is 14 or 15 years old. "Rape" is considered sexual intercourse under Oregon law. "Sodomy" covers a number of other sexual acts, including oral sex. "Sex abuse" is any other sexual contact.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Dan Braziel at 541-682.5836.

GUILTY PLEA & SENTENCING July 17 - Bridges pleaded guilty to one count each of third-degree rape and third-degree sodomy. She was sentenced to five years of probation and 60 days in jail for sexual contact with a middle school-age boy in two off-campus encounters earlier this year. As part of her sentence, she must undergo sex offender treatment and register as a sex offender.

Because of jail overcrowding, she most likely will serve no more than 10 days of the 60-day sentence, Chief Deputy Lane County District Attorney Alex Gardner said. The conviction carries an automatic revocation of her teaching license.

Mt. Angel, OREGON

Six months in jail and 180 days of probation, registration as a sex offender.
He can have no contact with children, including his own.

May 21, 2008 - Colby Molan, 35, a Kennedy High School health teacher accused of sex abuse and official misconduct involving two female students was arraigned Tuesday.

Molan is accused of kissing and groping a 14-year-old student May 2 in the downstairs physical-education office at the school. Police also have accused him of having two sexual encounters with an 18-year-old student in school offices, according to jail documents.

Molan's attorney requested that Molan be allowed visitation with his children under conditions set by the Oregon Department of Human Services. Molan was arrested May 13 on charges of Official Misconduct in the First Degree and Sexual Abuse in the Third Degree.

TT - Molan "wore a polo shirt and jeans," according to the reporter. We wondered if he was barefoot.

GUILTY PLEA & SENTENCING July 8 - Molan pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree sex abuse and was sentenced to 180 days in jail and five years of probation.

A second charge of third-degree sex abuse involving the 14-year-old and a charge of official misconduct were dropped as part of the plea bargain, Murphy said. The official-misconduct charge involved consensual sex with a student who was 18 at the time.

A third-degree sex abuse conviction means his teaching license automatically will be revoked. (He will have 21-days to appeal the revocation. )

Molan has been in custody for the last two weeks when he was found in contact with children unrelated to the case. It was a violation of his release agreement.

Judge Timothy Alexander told Molan he has a particularly harsh view of sex offenders and people who abuse positions of authority.T he judge told Molan he has a particularly harsh view of sex offenders and people who abuse positions of authority. Jail time was not part of the plea agreement.

Molan also will have to register as a sex offender. He must comply with his probation conditions, which include not having any contact with minors, as well as his own children, without Department of Human Services approval.

Hermiston, OREGON

June 5, 2008 - Roxanna Mata, 23, an educational assistant at Armand Larive Middle School, was arrested under suspicion of rape and sex abuse.

There are no details on the age of the victim, but rape in the third degree in Oregon means the person has sex with a victim less than 16 years of age. Sexual abuse II is when a person subjects a victim to sexual intercourse or deviate sexual intercourse. It also pertains if the victim doesn't give consent.

District Attorney Dean Gushwa said there were two victims in this case and there could be more. He said he anticipated presenting the case to a grand jury in the next day or two and his office may file additional charges.
Full Name: Roxanna Guadalupe Mata
Umatilla County

Stayton, OREGON

May 14, 2008 - John Lulay, 59, a former middle school teacher in the North Santiam School District, was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree sexual abuse following a secret indictment.

Police began investigating Lulay about three months ago. Since the case involves a child under the age of 14, most of the information will remain confidential.

Lulay worked for the North Santiam School District for more than 25 years. He was first hired in September 1976 as a full-time middle school teacher in Sublimity, then retired in June 2003 and later worked as a substitute teacher.

His next court appearance was set for June 13.

NOT GUILTY PLEA June 14 - Lulay pleaded not guilty in court Friday. Lulay next will appear in court July 9.

Hermiston, OREGON

Life Lesson #4,810 for middle school students.

March 4, 2008 - Hannah Webb, 25, a sixth grade at Sandstone Middle School, is charged with dumping her newborn baby into a California landfill.

An inconclusive autopsy could not determine whether the 10-pound baby died before or after birth. The only possible charge was a single misdemeanor violation for improper disposal of fetal remains.

The baby's body was found July 23 by a worker sorting trash on a conveyor belt at the Nortech Material Recovery Facility in Roseville, California. Webb was visiting friends in the area. The baby girl was wrapped in a plastic bag, her umbilical cord still attached. A piece of mail in the plastic bag led police to a home in Roseville, where the woman was staying with friends. She was put on leave after she was arrested. She has since resigned.

A settlement conference is scheduled for March 27.

Klamath Falls, OREGON

March 3, 2008 - Jason Stubbs, 27, a Henley High School teacher, was arrested Friday and faces charges for harassment, official misconduct and third degree sexual abuse.

The sheriff says the incident in question happened after school, Feb. 11. "The allegation is that there was inappropriate touching that occurred between the teacher and the student," said Klamath County Sheriff Tim Evinger. The alleged victim's parents contacted police that night, sparking the investigation.

Stubbs has been teaching at Henley for three years. He teaches forestry and horticulture, is an assistant football coach, and is also an advisor to the forestry club.

Days Creek, OREGON

Those character reference letters from teachers may not be all that reliable. Not when the teacher and his wife launder money for the drug dealer.

Feb 29, 2008 - The News-Review in Roseburg, Oregon, has been following the case of former teacher John “Phillip” Keyser who, along with his wife and son Jerod, pleaded to money laundering charges in federal court. TT entry for Keyser.

They report that teacher Keyser once wrote a character reference letter to a federal judge asking for a lighter sentence for alleged drug ringleader Kent Allen Jones. Jones pleaded guilty in a case where he had been accused of distributing 200,000 pounds of marijuana between 1978 and 1981. He was sentenced to five years' probation, but it didn't deter him.

Prosecutors said Jones met with the Keysers in 1998 or 1999 in Priest River, Idaho, where they resided, to discuss real estate purchases and investments. Later, the Keysers used the diner they owned to launder profits from the drug ring led by Jones.

Fascinating account of how drug dealers launders money.

Lake Oswego, OREGON

LAWSUIT

Feb 28, 2008 - In what is a case designed to change the law, three men are suing the Lake Oswego School District and a former teacher Thursday, seeking $6.3 million in damages on grounds the teacher allegedly sexually abused them more than 30 years ago.

There is no statute of limitations for private organizations such as the Boy Scouts or churches, but there is for suing the state. Under Oregon law, victims of sexual abuse have only two years to file a suit against a government agency.

Days Creek, OREGON

Time to update those yearbooks.
Mr. Keyser will be in the big house for the next five years.

Feb 27, 2008 -
John “Phillip” Keyser and his wife, Texanna, admitted in U.S. District Court in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, to helping conceal drug profits over a 30-year period.

The international drug dealer , Kent Jones, was a student of Phillip Keyser's in Days Creek in the 1960s when Keyser taught in Oregon. The Keysers face up to five years in federal prison under a plea agreement in which they admitted to money laundering and conducting real estate transactions involving drug proceeds. They pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder money.The couple’s son, Jerod L. Keyser, a mortgage broker in Priest River, Idaho, was one of a dozen men arrested when the drug ring was busted in September 2006.

Altogether, Jerod Keyser and his parents were accused of laundering $1.1 million. In their pleas, Phillip and Texanna Keyser agreed to forfeit $875,000 in cash, a home, several properties in Priest River and in Pend Oreille County, Wash., along with a pleasure boat, several ATVs, trailers and boat trailers.The Keysers were listed as owners of at least 11 bank accounts in northern Idaho. In one account at Panhandle State Bank, Phillip Keyser and Kent Jones were listed as co-owners. The government also seized $43,062 from Phillip and Texanna Keyser’s residence on Sept. 13, 2006.

Sentencing for John “Phillip” Keyser and his wife, Texanna, is July 7

U.S. District Court Indictment of the Keysers. (dated Jan 8, 2008)

Plea agreements from The News-Review
Plea Agreement John ("Philip") Keyser PDF (23 pages)
Plea Agreement Texanna Keyser PDF (22 pages)
Plea Agreement Jerod Keyser PDF (22 pages)

Feb 29, 2008 - From the plea agreements, the newspaper learned that John "Philip" Keyser wrote a character reference letter to a judge asking for a lighter sentence for drug pin Kent Jones. TT entry.

Location is Oregon because that's where he taught. If you recognize the name and know the school, let us know.

GUILTY PLEA - JEROD KEYSER March 25 - Jerod Keyser pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder money. The Priest River mortgage broker also agreed to forfeit cash, property and possessions totaling $225,000. Other charges against Keyser were dropped in exchange for his guilty plea. He will be sentenced July 7.

Seaside, OREGON

He didn't even have to plead guilty to get probation. That means not taking responsibility for his actions. The daughter still lives out of state with a relative. The plea let the wife off scot free. He has to take anger management classes. The D.A. is investigating hundreds of thousands of dollars of expenditures. Why would a court agree to such a deal?

Feb 23, 2007 - John Seeley, 47, superintendent and principal in the Jewell School District, and his wife, Laura Seeley, a kindergarten teacher, were indicted by a grand jury on felony charges of mistreating a child in their care.

Arraignment will be Wednesday. The Seeleys were put on paid leave in the fall. Authorities have released few details of the investigation, but they have said it involves allegations of child abuse or neglect of a teenage girl in the superintendent's care.

Additional from the Daily Astorian:

The records show that John Howard Seeley, 47, faces four counts of felony first-degree criminal mistreatment, and Laura Lynn Seeley, 47, faces three counts.

Both are accused of violating their legal duties to provide care for a dependent, for withholding necessary and adequate food, physical care and medical attention from her, and for leaving her unattended for a period of time long enough to endanger her health or welfare.

John Seeley faces an additional charge that alleges he unlawfully and knowingly caused physical injury to a dependent.

Full Name: John Howard Seeley

Mar 1 - John Seeley and his wife, kindergarten teacher Laura Seeley, pleaded not guilty Thursday to multiple counts of criminal mistreatment involving their 14-year-old daughter.
They are scheduled to appear in court again on April 12.

Update May 31 - A judge upheld the indictments against the Seeleys. Next court date is Aug 17.

TRIAL SCHEDULED: Sept 28 - A trial date has been scheduled for Feb 26. The Seeley's continue to work for the school district.

PLEA DEAL (AND WE DO MEAN A BARGAIN.) Feb 26, 2008 - KATU: Seeley did not have to plead guilty under the terms of the deal.

A former principal in a rural Clatsop County district accused of mistreating his daughter has made a deal with prosecutors to serve 18 months of probation. District Attorney Josh Marquis said he accepted the deal partly to prevent more trauma for the victim, the younger of two daughters of John and Laura Seeley.

Charges against Laura Seeley were dropped as part of the deal, Marquis said.

The best part is,

"If he does everything right," the one remaining charge will be dropped, Marquis said. "Although based on the facts, if he violates, he will be found guilty. It's like a guilty plea diversion without him having to utter the words that he's guilty."

Marquis said he expects a separate, unrelated investigation of "several hundred thousand dollars" in expenditures by Seeley during his time as superintendent of the School to end in March.

The Daily Astorian (Feb 25) - Headline: Seeley strikes a deal . Seeley will spend 18 months on monitored probation, pay a $500 fine and undergo an evaluation and treatment in exchange for dismissing child abuse charges filed against him.

Now, a local counselor will monitor Seeley, essentially overseeing his probation for the court and making recommendations for treatment, "for alcohol if that's a problem, or anger-management training," said Marquis. Seeley will not be allowed contact with his daughter unless the counselor approves it.

TT - Which pretty much says they are guilty of what they were accused of - mistreating a child. The girl is no longer in their custody but lives with a relative in Washington.

Prosecuting (sorta) was District Attorney Josh Marquis
Sentencing (sorta ) was Visiting Judge Nely Johnson of Multnomah County

Albany, OREGON

Maybe someone can explain the logic in this.

Feb 12, 2008 - The Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission revoked the license of Mark Leichty, formerly a science teacher at North Albany Middle School.

Leichty was put on leave in March 2004 after police began investigating allegations he touched the chests of four female students. Criminal charges against him were dismissed in 2005. The Commission opened their investigation in 2004 and concluded the evidence failed to establish criminal behavior, but that Leichty’s touching constituted “gross neglect of duty."

He may apply for a new license one year from now but must first document that he has successfully completed a sexual harassment course that includes information on appropriate boundaries.

Teacher Discipline in Oregon Pt II

Feb 18, 2008 - Oregonian series continues with "Schools cut secret deals with abusive teachers"
FINDING: During the past five years, nearly half of Oregon teachers disciplined for sexual misconduct with a child left their school districts with confidential agreements. The confidential agreements promised to keep alleged abuse quiet. Officials promised to keep alleged abuse quiet. Some promised cash settlements, health insurance and letters of recommendation as incentives for a resignation. Some promised cash settlements, health insurance and letters of recommendation as incentives for a resignation.

One teacher who left with such an agreement in 2005 began teaching in Arizona in 2006-2007 school year before leaving for "personal reasons." He's now teaching in New Hampshire.

Oregon public school officials say an educator suspected of sexual misconduct gives them few options. If they fire the educator, they may face a costly legal battle with teachers union lawyers. Putting an employee on paid leave is also expensive because the commission takes, on average, nearly 16 months to complete investigations.

The Oregonian found that in 2006-07, 28 Oregon educators missed 993 workdays while on paid leave during investigations of misconduct, at a cost of about $350,000 in salaries and hiring substitutes.

Cutting a resignation agreement offers the fastest, cheapest way for a district to push a problem teacher out of the classroom, school officials say.

Other states do not approve secret agreements. Montana is one. Similar problems with secret deals in California led the state Supreme Court to rule that districts can be sued for such pacts. The decision largely put an end to resignation deals, said Mary Armstrong, a lawyer for the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

SELF-POLICING DOESN'T WORK The problem in Oregon is that teachers unions helped create the Teacher Standards and Practices commission in 1965, and nearly all 17 commissioners are teachers or former teachers. The commission dismisses about half of the 200 complaints it receives each year.

KEEPING BAD TEACHERS The commission usually gives teachers who touch students or watch pornography on school computers a public reprimand or probation and permits them to keep teaching if they get counseling and pass a psychological evaluation.

Even educators who admit to sexual misconduct with a student sometimes get a second chance. The commission, a professional organization supported by license fees, tries to serve educators and their interests. Though commissioners say they give student safety high priority, their mission also includes “always save a good educator,” said Vickie Chamberlain, the agency’s executive director.

Pt I of their series Link
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TT - THE BOTTOM LINE is that your children are dead last in their consideration. Secret agreements let teachers move to other districts in other states and commit the same offenses. Your school officials aren't warned about the menace. Education bureaucrats make deals that protect, defend and tolerate teachers knowing that they do so at the expense of children. They even screw over other bureaucrats in other states. But the ones they hurt the most are students, their parents, and the quality of education for those teachers who feel as strongly about the issue as parents do.

Such deals demoralize teachers, serve as bad examples and guarantee a continuation of the problem. And in some states, the information is so secret that a direct order by the states' attorney general isn't sufficient to obtain the records.

And this is the same finding in investigations by the Columbus Dispatch (OH), the Sarasota Herald-Tribune (FL), the Small Newspaper Group in Illinois), the Detroit News, and in Arkansas, and in virtually every state where licensing has been examined.

Whether you call it a Broken Trust or the ABCs of Betrayal, the Code of Silence, The Hidden Costs of Tenure, Dirty Secrets: Why sexually abusive teachers arent stopped, Betray of Trust or Out of Bounds every single investigation came to the same conclusion about licensing and standards bureaucracies.

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.