Tag: Florida Department of Education

School Failed to Check References of Teacher Accused of Sex Crime A teacher in Florida was recently found guilty by the Florida Department of Education of sending an inappropriate Snapchat photo to a student, kissing a student, and buying gifts for a student, but this was two years after the events occurred. During this two-year period, the teacher retained his teaching license. The teacher was investigated and arrested during this time but was found not guilty due to a technicality. This teacher was able to get hired by a school in the Tampa Bay area during the time he was being investigated for these allegations. Then, the teacher got arrested again, this time for accusations of sexual battery of a high school student. Teachers can continue to teach as long as they have their teaching certificates, and these certificates are still valid while the teacher is being investigated by the Department of Education. Florida's state statute does require the Department of Education to investigate any legally-sufficient complaint involving any certified personnel that involves the health, welfare, or safety of a student immediately. However, there is no specific time given for when an investigation must occur. So, a significant amount of time can pass before any action is taken on any teaching license. After the Department of Education does investigate, if they find probable cause, the Education Profession Commission takes any action against the person's teaching certificate. However, this can take years, which gives the potential for more abuse to occur during the investigation period. There are problems beyond how slow the investigations can take as well. It seems there also have been issues with background checks. The teacher that was under investigation for sending an inappropriate picture still had a teaching license, but some wonder how he was able to get a job with his past issues. Why wouldn't a background check have indicated problems in his past? It turns out that there were some problems with background checks in Polk County Public Schools in Florida that may have occurred during the time period in which the teacher was hired. This teacher's references were not checked by his employer, though the Polk County Public School District claims that all of its employees must pass certain background checks. They also stated that, at the time the teacher was hired, he did not have a background offense that would have disqualified him from employment. This incident shows the importance of performing comprehensive pre-employment screening. It is important to trust your company's background checks to a screening provider you can trust and ensure that all components of a candidate's background have been considered to make an educated hiring decision. Pre-employ makes background checks easy and reliable. Speak with a compliance expert today. Source

Tag: Florida Department of Education

School Failed to Check References of Teacher Accused of Sex Crime

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