Jury returns verdict that
actions reported are not
against the law...or does it?
San Diego Union Tribune
April 3, 2003
It appears that the jury in a case
concerning Alvin Dunn Elementary
School in San Marcos actually
believed that school's actions were
illegal, but that they wanted to
protect school finances. Sadly, all
they achieved was to make sure that
schools pay large amounts of
taxpayer dollars to lawyers instead of
paying moderate amounts to victims.
This San Diego Union Tribune article
notes, “…jurors told [Shannon
Peterson] outside court that they
didn't approve of the way the boy was
treated, but were concerned about
hurting school finances. “
Perhaps the jury did not realize that
the school district may end up paying
more to lawyers than they would pay
to victims as a result of their lawyers
refusal to settle cases. Also, the
resulting tendency of schools not to
fix problems may lead to more
problems and more payments to
lawyers.
North County Times April 14, 2005
Jack Sleeth says that actions
reported by whistle-blowers
are not against the law.
This article says, “A 10-year-old
classroom helper saw Priest grab
Austin out of a swing by the arm and
shake him, Leavitt said. And still
another will say they saw Priest bend
Jessica's fingers back to her wrist to
get her to color, the attorney told the
jury. Leavitt told jurors that parents
and teachers reported their concerns
to the school principal, Jan Zelasko,
but that no action was taken.”
North County Times May 6, 2005
Jack Sleeth and Escondido
Union School District
actions reported are not
against the law...or does it?
San Diego Union Tribune
April 3, 2003
It appears that the jury in a case
concerning Alvin Dunn Elementary
School in San Marcos actually
believed that school's actions were
illegal, but that they wanted to
protect school finances. Sadly, all
they achieved was to make sure that
schools pay large amounts of
taxpayer dollars to lawyers instead of
paying moderate amounts to victims.
This San Diego Union Tribune article
notes, “…jurors told [Shannon
Peterson] outside court that they
didn't approve of the way the boy was
treated, but were concerned about
hurting school finances. “
Perhaps the jury did not realize that
the school district may end up paying
more to lawyers than they would pay
to victims as a result of their lawyers
refusal to settle cases. Also, the
resulting tendency of schools not to
fix problems may lead to more
problems and more payments to
lawyers.
North County Times April 14, 2005
Jack Sleeth says that actions
reported by whistle-blowers
are not against the law.
This article says, “A 10-year-old
classroom helper saw Priest grab
Austin out of a swing by the arm and
shake him, Leavitt said. And still
another will say they saw Priest bend
Jessica's fingers back to her wrist to
get her to color, the attorney told the
jury. Leavitt told jurors that parents
and teachers reported their concerns
to the school principal, Jan Zelasko,
but that no action was taken.”
North County Times May 6, 2005
Jack Sleeth and Escondido
Union School District
Teachers Abusing Students
Do school districts protect teachers at the expense of
students?
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
By Jennifer Smith Richards and Jill Riepenhoff
Ohio's largest school districts investigated dozens of teachers for
victimizing students last year but disciplined relatively few, even when
allegations were proved.
The state rarely learned about the wrongdoing that schools
discovered.
Districts showed that they regularly acted as maverick detectives and
disciplinarians by handling problem teachers on their own, sometimes
even after a state law went into effect in March that required them to
report when teachers misbehave.
That means that, in many cases, the state didn't get the opportunity
to decide whether it should suspend or revoke the educators'
licenses -- actions that districts can't take.
A Dispatch analysis of last school year's teacher investigations in the
state's 10 largest districts found:
• The state knew of fewer than 22 percent of the 189 disciplinary
investigations conducted by the districts.
• Nearly 40 percent of investigations involved student abuse -- cases
in which educators were accused of hitting, shoving, swearing at or
harassing children.
• The state was more likely to know about teachers accused of
cheating on state tests than those accused of abusing students. The
Ohio Department of Education has confirmed it is aware of 10 of the
74 student-abuse investigations that districts conducted. By
comparison, five of eight educators accused of cheating are either
under investigation by the state or have been punished already.
Two Cleveland teachers, Roderick Vaughn and Constance
Deminsky, were fired last school year for "corporal punishment." Both
had histories of anger issues and previously had been reprimanded
by the district.
Columbus City Schools aide Ethel M. Johnson was fired for slapping
a special-education student in the face. She denies the abuse, which
brought no criminal charges...
[Maura Larkins' note:
In San Diego county, teachers do lots worse than this, and
instead of being fired, SDCOE-JPA pays lawyers millions to
help them get away with it.]
students?
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
By Jennifer Smith Richards and Jill Riepenhoff
Ohio's largest school districts investigated dozens of teachers for
victimizing students last year but disciplined relatively few, even when
allegations were proved.
The state rarely learned about the wrongdoing that schools
discovered.
Districts showed that they regularly acted as maverick detectives and
disciplinarians by handling problem teachers on their own, sometimes
even after a state law went into effect in March that required them to
report when teachers misbehave.
That means that, in many cases, the state didn't get the opportunity
to decide whether it should suspend or revoke the educators'
licenses -- actions that districts can't take.
A Dispatch analysis of last school year's teacher investigations in the
state's 10 largest districts found:
• The state knew of fewer than 22 percent of the 189 disciplinary
investigations conducted by the districts.
• Nearly 40 percent of investigations involved student abuse -- cases
in which educators were accused of hitting, shoving, swearing at or
harassing children.
• The state was more likely to know about teachers accused of
cheating on state tests than those accused of abusing students. The
Ohio Department of Education has confirmed it is aware of 10 of the
74 student-abuse investigations that districts conducted. By
comparison, five of eight educators accused of cheating are either
under investigation by the state or have been punished already.
Two Cleveland teachers, Roderick Vaughn and Constance
Deminsky, were fired last school year for "corporal punishment." Both
had histories of anger issues and previously had been reprimanded
by the district.
Columbus City Schools aide Ethel M. Johnson was fired for slapping
a special-education student in the face. She denies the abuse, which
brought no criminal charges...
[Maura Larkins' note:
In San Diego county, teachers do lots worse than this, and
instead of being fired, SDCOE-JPA pays lawyers millions to
help them get away with it.]
Do taxpayers pay
lawyers to help
bullies/abusers get
away with their
actions?
lawyers to help
bullies/abusers get
away with their
actions?
When Teachers Abuse Power
by Heather Johnson
Monday, August 18, 2008
Teaching is a noble profession, one
that demands a great deal of patience
and flexibility. A teacher plays
different roles in the lives of students;
besides giving them an education,
they also act as guides and mentors.
Children spend most of their waking
hours at school, which is why it’s
important for teachers to be
accessible to the students not just as
educators but also as a friend. While
there are some teachers who live in
your memory as the ones that did
make a huge positive impact, there
are others who are remembered for
reasons that are both shameful and a
disgrace to the field of education as a
whole.
Teachers are given a degree of
power over the students they teach –
they are trusted by both the school
authorities and the children’s parents
to use that power judiciously and for
the general good of the children. But
there are some bad eggs who give
the entire teaching fraternity a bad
name; they’re the ones who use their
position and authority for their own
purposes, some more horrendous
than others.
We routinely hear of teachers
sexually abusing children in their
care; some of them are so perverted
that they film their dirty deeds and sell
them for profits. As if this were not
enough, they hold the threat of bad
grades over their students’ heads if
they tell anyone what happened.
Statistics state that around 5 percent
of teachers and coaches abuse
minors, but this is not a true reflection
of the state of events. The number of
incidents that are unreported are
much more than those that are. Most
students are afraid to come out in the
open fearing the repercussions – the
ostracism from their peers, the future
of their education and the effect the
media impact would have on their
lives and that of their loved ones.
Abuse need not be sexual to be
detrimental to the well-being of
students – some teachers send
children on the wrong path by
encouraging them to smoke, drink
and do drugs. Others play favorites in
a blatant manner, with the students
who are affected being powerless to
do anything to bring the offenders to
book.
The reason that such incidents are
widespread is that most students look
up to their teachers and are willing to
go to any lengths so that they are not
disappointed in them. A subtle word
here and a small hint there are
enough to make these immature
minds fall prey to the more cunning
brains of their educators. The only
way to prevent this from happening to
your child is to educate him/her in the
ways of the world and warn them of
the dangers that could befall them if
they are not careful. Parents must
play an active role in every aspect of
their children’s lives and encourage
them to report any untoward incident,
no matter how trivial it may seem.
This post was contributed by
Heather Johnson, who writes on
the subject of top online college.
She invites your feedback at
heatherjohnson2323 at gmail dot
com.
by Heather Johnson
Monday, August 18, 2008
Teaching is a noble profession, one
that demands a great deal of patience
and flexibility. A teacher plays
different roles in the lives of students;
besides giving them an education,
they also act as guides and mentors.
Children spend most of their waking
hours at school, which is why it’s
important for teachers to be
accessible to the students not just as
educators but also as a friend. While
there are some teachers who live in
your memory as the ones that did
make a huge positive impact, there
are others who are remembered for
reasons that are both shameful and a
disgrace to the field of education as a
whole.
Teachers are given a degree of
power over the students they teach –
they are trusted by both the school
authorities and the children’s parents
to use that power judiciously and for
the general good of the children. But
there are some bad eggs who give
the entire teaching fraternity a bad
name; they’re the ones who use their
position and authority for their own
purposes, some more horrendous
than others.
We routinely hear of teachers
sexually abusing children in their
care; some of them are so perverted
that they film their dirty deeds and sell
them for profits. As if this were not
enough, they hold the threat of bad
grades over their students’ heads if
they tell anyone what happened.
Statistics state that around 5 percent
of teachers and coaches abuse
minors, but this is not a true reflection
of the state of events. The number of
incidents that are unreported are
much more than those that are. Most
students are afraid to come out in the
open fearing the repercussions – the
ostracism from their peers, the future
of their education and the effect the
media impact would have on their
lives and that of their loved ones.
Abuse need not be sexual to be
detrimental to the well-being of
students – some teachers send
children on the wrong path by
encouraging them to smoke, drink
and do drugs. Others play favorites in
a blatant manner, with the students
who are affected being powerless to
do anything to bring the offenders to
book.
The reason that such incidents are
widespread is that most students look
up to their teachers and are willing to
go to any lengths so that they are not
disappointed in them. A subtle word
here and a small hint there are
enough to make these immature
minds fall prey to the more cunning
brains of their educators. The only
way to prevent this from happening to
your child is to educate him/her in the
ways of the world and warn them of
the dangers that could befall them if
they are not careful. Parents must
play an active role in every aspect of
their children’s lives and encourage
them to report any untoward incident,
no matter how trivial it may seem.
This post was contributed by
Heather Johnson, who writes on
the subject of top online college.
She invites your feedback at
heatherjohnson2323 at gmail dot
com.
Various stories about
teacher abuse of students
can be found at Teacher
Smackdown.
teacher abuse of students
can be found at Teacher
Smackdown.
Teacher Magazine
The Teacher Effect
By Deborah Hansen
June 11, 2008
“Now, would you read that paragraph again so we can understand it
this time?” My 5th grade teacher stood in front of the class with her
hands on her hips as she threw these cutting words across the room.
I had just read a section from the daily “out loud” and now the boy
behind me was being directed to read the same paragraph again.
Her words slashed through my soul and the humiliation I felt that day
is as fresh and hot as if it had happened this morning...
What that teacher couldn’t possibly know that day was that her
thoughtlessness would prompt me to set a career path to make sure
no other child would face such humiliation. I became a teacher. For
15 years, I dedicated myself to the philosophy that a teacher is one
of the most important people in a child’s life. Our words and our
attitudes have a lasting impact on the minds and the souls of the
children who are placed in our paths every day. We must treat these
hearts and souls with the tender care that such a precious gift
deserves.
We never know the damage that has already been done to a child
when they take a seat in our classroom. We can’t take the chance
that a child may already be teetering on the brink, suffering from
abusive relationships or the effects of poverty. We can’t truly know
what they face at home every day when they are out of our sight.
Our thoughtless, painful words might be the ones that push that child
over the edge..
The Teacher Effect
By Deborah Hansen
June 11, 2008
“Now, would you read that paragraph again so we can understand it
this time?” My 5th grade teacher stood in front of the class with her
hands on her hips as she threw these cutting words across the room.
I had just read a section from the daily “out loud” and now the boy
behind me was being directed to read the same paragraph again.
Her words slashed through my soul and the humiliation I felt that day
is as fresh and hot as if it had happened this morning...
What that teacher couldn’t possibly know that day was that her
thoughtlessness would prompt me to set a career path to make sure
no other child would face such humiliation. I became a teacher. For
15 years, I dedicated myself to the philosophy that a teacher is one
of the most important people in a child’s life. Our words and our
attitudes have a lasting impact on the minds and the souls of the
children who are placed in our paths every day. We must treat these
hearts and souls with the tender care that such a precious gift
deserves.
We never know the damage that has already been done to a child
when they take a seat in our classroom. We can’t take the chance
that a child may already be teetering on the brink, suffering from
abusive relationships or the effects of poverty. We can’t truly know
what they face at home every day when they are out of our sight.
Our thoughtless, painful words might be the ones that push that child
over the edge..
Bullies
San Diego
Education Report
Education Report
Teacher Acquitted of Sex Abuse Entitled to
Costs, Court Says
By Mark Walsh
Education Week
February 7, 2011
A former Utah middle school teacher who was acquitted on charges
of sexually abusing one of her students is entitled under a state law
to be reimbursed for her attorney's fees and court costs, the state's
highest court has ruled.
The Salt Lake City school district had sought to bar the ex-teacher,
Shelly Acor, from recovering the costs because it argued she had
acknowledged an inappropriate relationship with the student.
But the Utah Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Acor's case was
covered by the state reimbursement statute, which is meant to help
public employees recover costs if they are acquitted of criminal
charges for any actions taken in the scope of their employment or
under the "color" of their authority.
According to court papers, a former student alleged that she had a
sexual relationship with Acor for several years, beginning when the
student was in 7th grade in 1995. When Acor was confronted with
the allegations in 2005, she resigned her teaching job and told the
district superintendent that "there was a relationship and it was totally
inappropriate."
The police seized a journal from Acor's home, and a prosecutor later
said in court papers that the journal corroborated many of the
student's allegations. But the journal and Acor's statement to the
superintendent were excluded from her criminal trial, and in 2007 the
teacher was acquitted by a jury of all the sex abuse charges against
her.
Acor sued the district a short time later, seeking reimbursement of
her attorney's fees and court costs. (The state Supreme Court's
opinion did not discuss what those costs totaled.) A state trial court
denied the reimbursement, but in a Jan. 28 decision, the state
Supreme Court ruled for the teacher.
"The Reimbursement Statute leaves no room for a court to question
the propriety of an acquittal, ... much less an employee's worthiness
for reimbursement on the basis of an unspecified 'inappropriate'
relationship," the state high court said in Acor v. Salt Lake City
School District. "The district's strongly held and presumably sincere
belief in Acor's guilt cannot defeat her right to reimbursement under
the statute."
The court said it was clear that the charges against Acor arose out of
her job-related activities and duties. It declined to apply a line of
state and federal cases in which school districts and other public
agencies were held not to be vicariously liable for sexual abuse by
their employees because such actions were not part of their
job-related duties.
The court said the Utah statute requires reimbursement once a
public employee is acquitted of criminal charges, unless the
employee is found guilty of substantially similar charges or the
charges are dropped by prosecutors.
Costs, Court Says
By Mark Walsh
Education Week
February 7, 2011
A former Utah middle school teacher who was acquitted on charges
of sexually abusing one of her students is entitled under a state law
to be reimbursed for her attorney's fees and court costs, the state's
highest court has ruled.
The Salt Lake City school district had sought to bar the ex-teacher,
Shelly Acor, from recovering the costs because it argued she had
acknowledged an inappropriate relationship with the student.
But the Utah Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Acor's case was
covered by the state reimbursement statute, which is meant to help
public employees recover costs if they are acquitted of criminal
charges for any actions taken in the scope of their employment or
under the "color" of their authority.
According to court papers, a former student alleged that she had a
sexual relationship with Acor for several years, beginning when the
student was in 7th grade in 1995. When Acor was confronted with
the allegations in 2005, she resigned her teaching job and told the
district superintendent that "there was a relationship and it was totally
inappropriate."
The police seized a journal from Acor's home, and a prosecutor later
said in court papers that the journal corroborated many of the
student's allegations. But the journal and Acor's statement to the
superintendent were excluded from her criminal trial, and in 2007 the
teacher was acquitted by a jury of all the sex abuse charges against
her.
Acor sued the district a short time later, seeking reimbursement of
her attorney's fees and court costs. (The state Supreme Court's
opinion did not discuss what those costs totaled.) A state trial court
denied the reimbursement, but in a Jan. 28 decision, the state
Supreme Court ruled for the teacher.
"The Reimbursement Statute leaves no room for a court to question
the propriety of an acquittal, ... much less an employee's worthiness
for reimbursement on the basis of an unspecified 'inappropriate'
relationship," the state high court said in Acor v. Salt Lake City
School District. "The district's strongly held and presumably sincere
belief in Acor's guilt cannot defeat her right to reimbursement under
the statute."
The court said it was clear that the charges against Acor arose out of
her job-related activities and duties. It declined to apply a line of
state and federal cases in which school districts and other public
agencies were held not to be vicariously liable for sexual abuse by
their employees because such actions were not part of their
job-related duties.
The court said the Utah statute requires reimbursement once a
public employee is acquitted of criminal charges, unless the
employee is found guilty of substantially similar charges or the
charges are dropped by prosecutors.