Friday, November 2, 2007

Ohio education department launches online database of disciplined teachers

Public shame goes a long way towards deterring bad behavior.

Posted at The Columbus Dispatch.

Superintendents and parents now can learn if a teacher has been disciplined for misconduct by the state.

The Ohio Department of Education this morning launched an online database that contains the names of every teacher, coach, administrator and licensed employee who has been punished since 1999.

It does not provide any information on unfounded allegations or educators currently under investigation by the Office of Professional Conduct.

But in the cases where state officials have confirmed misconduct and taken action, the database lists the school district where the educator worked and a basic description of the wrongdoing such as, “conviction for sexual battery” or “inappropriate relationship with a student.”

“In general, we support a statewide database,'' said Michelle Prater, spokeswoman for the Ohio Education Association. “But until we see it, I can't begin to comment.''

Superintendents also consider such a database another tool to help weed out teachers with questionable histories.

“It's a significant step in the direction of assuring school district personnel have clean records,'' said David Laurenzi, president of the Buckeye Assocation of School Administrators and superintendent of Independence schools in Cuyahoga County. “It will help make classrooms safer.''

At least 10 other states, including Kentucky and Michigan, post disciplinary cases online.

The online database comes on the heels of a 10-month Dispatch investigation that exposed flaws in the teacher-discipline system. One was that the state Education Department did not always notify school districts about reprimanded teachers, so some superintendents had unknowingly hired teachers with histories of misconduct.

The department also removed the shroud of secrecy surrounding some cases. Until now, the state hid the reason for some revocations because the teachers' misconduct was reported by a child-protection agency. Now, the public can read a basic description of the offense on the database.

The Department of Education database

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