Policy on ethics for teachers proposed

If anyone wonders if it's OK for a teacher to habitually text-message students, carry pot in his pockets on the weekend or use his position to further a side business — the state school board is spelling out the answers.

The State Board of Education on Thursday examined a 12-page ethics policy laying out the school world's no-nos. Some violations could mean a teacher's license or that a college student or person seeking to switch careers never enters the profession.

The 12-page proposal is two years in the making, state director of school law and legislation Carol Lear said.

"It is a major shift (to say) if you do this stuff, there shall be discipline," rather than "sin no more," Lear said.

Teacher misconduct allegations have made headlines in recent weeks, including an elementary school teacher accused of molesting students and a female teacher accused of having sex with students.

Since 1998, 342 teachers have been disciplined for misconduct, and that doesn't count 29 who have been reinstated, the Utah Professional Practices Advisory Commission reports. Of those, 99 were suspended and 85 had their licenses revoked.

In nine of the past 15 years, sexual misconduct was the No. 1 reason for teachers to lose a license, accounting for more than half, and one year it was 86 percent of the total.

There are more than 26,000 teachers in Utah.

Prospective teachers and substitutes have been fingerprinted and undergone criminal background checks for years. The problem is, people who are getting in trouble often don't have a record reflecting the offense. A lewdness arrest, for example, might result in a charge only for "disorderly conduct."

So now, in addition to the background check, prospective teachers would have to explain some offenses in the form of a letter, plus provide police reports upon request, Lear said.

Some of the no-nos that will result in disciplinary action, be it a reprimand or license revocation, include: a felony conviction; any kind of abuse or criminal offense involving children; stalking, illegal drugs or sex offenses pleaded down to lesser crimes. Inappropriate relationships or contact, be it verbal or in an e-mail or text message, with a minor or student also would be intolerable.