MANDATORY REPORTING OF MISCONDUCT BY CERTIFICATED EMPLOYEES

MANDATORY REPORTING OF MISCONDUCT BY CERTIFICATED EMPLOYEES

po8141Adopted April 28, 2009Revised March 12, 2024

8141 - MANDATORY REPORTING OF MISCONDUCT BY CERTIFICATED EMPLOYEES

The Board recognizes its responsibilities to effectively address employee misconduct and, where determined appropriate, to provide a measured disciplinary response consistent with due process. In addition, with respect to certificated and/or certificated professional staff members, matters of misconduct, including conviction of certain crimes enumerated by law and/or conduct which is unbecoming to the teaching profession, will be reported by the Superintendent to the Florida Department of Education.

  1. Reporting Professional Misconduct

    District staff are required to report to the Superintendent or the Superintendent’s designee alleged misconduct by District employees which affects the health, safety, or welfare of a student.

    If the alleged misconduct to be reported is regarding the Superintendent, the District employee shall report the alleged misconduct to the Board attorney. Failure to report such alleged misconduct shall result in appropriate disciplinary action (F.S. 1012.796(d)). The report shall be made in accordance with Policy 9130 - Public Complaints.

    The Superintendent shall investigate any allegation of misconduct by District employees which affects the health, safety, or welfare of a student, and shall report the alleged misconduct to the Department of Education as required in F.S. 1012.796, 1001.51(12)(b), 1001.42(7)(b).

    Staff alleged to have committed such misconduct shall be reassigned pending the outcome of a misconduct investigation.
  2. Parental Notification of Alleged Misconduct

    Within thirty (30) days of the date on which the District learns of misconduct by  any employee of the District  that affects the health, safety, or welfare of a student, including misconduct that involves engaging in or soliciting sexual, romantic, lewd conduct with a student, or any conduct that would result in disqualification from educator certification or employment as provided in F.S. 1012.315, the parent of a student who was subjected to or affected by such misconduct shall receive written notification informing the parent of the following:
     
    1. the alleged misconduct, including which allegations have been substantiated, if any;
    2. whether the District reported the misconduct to the FLDOE if required by F.S. 1012.796;
    3. the sanctions imposed by the District against the employee, if any; and
    4. support the District will make available to the student subjected to or affected by the misconduct.

Parental notification shall be provided consistent with the provisions set forth in Policy 3590, including the statutory requirement that school administrators, educational support personnel, and instructional staff members be provided ten (10) days notice before the disclosure of derogatory material.

  1. Parental Notification of Arrests of Employees

    Notwithstanding F.S. 1012.31(3)(a)1 and 1012.796(4), within twenty-four (24) hours after a law enforcement agency provides the Superintendent with written notification pursuant to F.S. 1012.797 that a District employee has been arrested for a felony or a misdemeanor involving the abuse of a minor child or the sale or possession of a controlled substance, the Principal shall notify parents of enrolled students who had direct contact with the employee and include, at a minimum, the name and specific charges against the employee.
  2. Filing a Complaint with the Department of Education

    If it is alleged that an instructional staff member or administrator has committed a violation as provided in F.S. 1012.795, and defined by rule of the State Board of Education, the Superintendent shall file with the Department of Education a legally sufficient complaint within thirty (30) days after the date on which the subject matter of the complaint came to the attention of the Superintendent. A complaint is legally sufficient if it contains ultimate facts that show a violation has occurred as provided in F.S. 1012.795 and defined by rule of the State Board of Education. The Superintendent shall include all known information relating to the complaint with the filing of the complaint. This paragraph does not limit or restrict the power and duty of the Department of Education to investigate complaints, regardless of the District's untimely filing, or failure to file, complaints and follow-up reports (F.S. 1012.796(e)).
  3. Report of Resignation or Termination

    If the Superintendent determines that misconduct by an instructional staff member or an administrator who holds a certificate issued by the Florida Department of Education affects the health, safety, or welfare of a student and the misconduct warrants termination, the staff member may resign or be terminated and the Superintendent must report the misconduct to the Department of Education in the format prescribed by the Department. The Department shall maintain each report of misconduct as a public record in the instructional personnel's certification files (F.S. 1012.796(d)).
  4. Transmittal of False or Incorrect Report

    The Superintendent shall not knowingly sign and transmit to any State official a report that the Superintendent knows to be false or incorrect.

    Pursuant to F.S. 1001.42(7), a Board member may not knowingly sign and transmit to any State official a report of alleged misconduct by instructional personnel or school administrators which affects the health, safety, or welfare of a student which the Board member knows to be false or incorrect.
  5. Requirement of Disclosure of Employee Misconduct

    The Board, Superintendent, or any other District employee, may not enter into a confidentiality agreement regarding terminated or dismissed instructional personnel or school administrators, or personnel or administrators who resign in lieu of termination, based in whole or in part on misconduct that affects the health, safety, or welfare of a student, and may not provide instructional personnel with employment references or discuss the personnel's performance with prospective employers in another educational setting, without disclosing the personnel's or administrators' misconduct. Any part of an agreement or contract that has the purpose or effect of concealing misconduct by instructional personnel which affects the health, safety, or welfare of a student is void, is contrary to public policy, and may not be enforced (F.S. 1001.42(6)).
  6. Posting Requirements

    Pursuant to F.S. 1006.061(2), this policy shall be posted in a prominent place at each school site and on each school's internet website, so that the policy and procedures for reporting alleged misconduct by instructional personnel or school administrators which affects the health, safety, or welfare of a student; the contact person to whom the report is made; and the penalties imposed on instructional personnel or school administrators who fail to report suspected or actual child abuse or alleged misconduct by other instructional personnel or school administrators is effectively communicated to all.
  7. Liability

    Employees who report misconduct which affects the health, safety, or welfare of a student may be entitled to certain statutory liability protections as set forth in F.S. 39.203 and 768.095.

Revised 3/12/24

© Neola 2018